The Masques op. 34 is a work for

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...

written by Karol Szymanowski from 1915 to 1916. In 1914, the composer took refuge in his home village in

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

and remained there until the Russian Revolution. He had returned from a long stay in Europe, Sicily and North Africa, where he drew his inspiration for these years' works. Here his style approached the

Impressionism Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...

Debussy (Achille) Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influential composers of the ...

and inaugurated a series of

program music Program music or programatic music is a type of instrumental art music that attempts to musically render an extramusical narrative. The narrative itself might be offered to the audience through the piece's title, or in the form of program notes ...

, a literary source, with his '' Myths for violin and piano'', contemporaries of his '' Métopes'' for piano and his ''Masques''. The three pieces that compose the work offer access to three major myths of the Western imagination, whereas his ''Metopes'' focused on

Homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...

. The ''Masques'' were written in a different chronological order than that of their publication, with ''Scheherazade'' initially completing the cycle. ''Tantris'' is a corruption of ''Tristan'', taken from the myth of

Tristan and Iseult Tristan and Iseult, also known as Tristan and Isolde and other names, is a medieval chivalric romance told in numerous variations since the 12th century. Based on a Celtic legend and possibly other sources, the tale is a tragedy about the illic ...

and retold in a piece by

Ernst Hardt Friedrich Wilhelm Ernst Hardt (9 May 1876 – 3 January 1947), born Ernst Stöckhardt, was a German playwright, poet, and novelist. Hardt was born in Graudenz, West Prussia (now Grudziądz, Poland). He is the author of ''Priester des Todes' ...

where Tristan masquerades as a jester to meet his sweetheart. Its performance lasts about twenty-five minutes. *'' Schéhérazade'' *''Tantris le bouffon'' *''Sérénade de Don Juan''

External links

* * , performed by Piotr Anderszewski Compositions by Karol Szymanowski Compositions for solo piano Suites (music) 1916 compositions {{Classical-composition-stub