''Eight Improvisations on Hungarian Peasant Songs'', Op. 20, Sz. 74, BB 83, also known as ''Improvisations on Hungarian Peasant Songs'' or simply as ''Improvisations'', is a composition for solo

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 ...

by Hungarian composer Béla Bartók. It was finished in 1920.

Composition

This composition is the last one on which Bartók put an Opus number because henceforth he would treat his folk music and his more artistic side as equal. However, this work is far from his folk pieces, with its abrasive harmonies and rhythms.

Structure

This composition has eight movements: The first movement, ''Molto moderato'', the original melody is repeated three times without not much variation and a coda at the end. The mode of this melody comes from the

Dorian mode Dorian mode or Doric mode can refer to three very different but interrelated subjects: one of the Ancient Greek ''harmoniai'' (characteristic melodic behaviour, or the scale structure associated with it); one of the medieval musical modes; or—mo ...

scale on C, but the accompaniment plays unrelated triad chords, all of them derived from melody notes. In the second movement, ''Molto capriccioso'', the main melody is repeated also three times, but here, even though it shares its Dorian mode on C, there are fragments written in Mixolydian mode, its rhythm is much more syncopated, there are much more sudden tempo changes and it is much more dissonant than the first. The third movement, ''Lento rubato'', is

polytonal Polytonality (also polyharmony) is the musical use of more than one key simultaneously. Bitonality is the use of only two different keys at the same time. Polyvalence or polyvalency is the use of more than one harmonic function, from the same key, ...

. The fourth, ''Allegretto scherzando'', is a very quick

scherzo A scherzo (, , ; plural scherzos or scherzi), in western classical music, is a short composition – sometimes a movement from a larger work such as a symphony or a sonata. The precise definition has varied over the years, but scherzo often re ...

-like movement. The fifth movement, ''Allegro molto'', uses the

pentatonic scale A pentatonic scale is a musical scale with five notes per octave, in contrast to the heptatonic scale, which has seven notes per octave (such as the major scale and minor scale). Pentatonic scales were developed independently by many an ...

and also counterpoint and polytonal harmonies all along the movement. The sixth movement, ''Allegro moderato, molto capriccioso'', is a

bitonal Polytonality (also polyharmony) is the musical use of more than one key simultaneously. Bitonality is the use of only two different keys at the same time. Polyvalence or polyvalency is the use of more than one harmonic function, from the same key, ...

movement; one hand plays only in the black keys of the piano, making a melody on a pentatonic scale, while the other hand uses all of the white keys, which create dissonances. The seventh movement, ''Sostenuto, rubato'', is dedicated to the memory of French composer Claude Debussy, for Bartók's music was very influenced by Debussy's style when Bartók was a young composer. It was published separately from this work in a memorial supplement of ''

La revue musicale ''La Revue musicale'' was a music magazine founded by Henry Prunières in 1920. ''La Revue musicale'' of Prunières was undoubtedly the first music publishing magazine giving as much attention to the quality of editing, iconography, and illustrat ...

'', published in December 1920 and dedicated to late Debussy, even though this movement contains no references to any of Debussy's works nor to his composition style. The eighth movement, ''Allegro'', is in a variation form, and its melody is repeated over and over, like in the first movement. The melody is somehow similar to that of the second movement's.

Notable recordings

Notable recordings include:

References

External links

* {{Béla Bartók Solo piano compositions by Béla Bartók 1920 compositions Compositions using folk songs