Dance Suite, Sz. 77, BB 86 , sometimes also called Tanz Suite, Sz. 77, BB 86, is an orchestral suite composed in 1923 by Hungarian composer Béla Bartók

Béla Bartók

Béla Viktor János Bartók was a Hungarian composer and pianist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century and is regarded, along with Liszt, as Hungary's greatest composer...

. In 1925, the composer himself wrote a reduction of this piece for piano, which has become also as well-known as the original. In order to differentiate between one another, the orchestral version is categorized as BB 86a, while the reduction is categorized as BB 86b.

Composition

Béla Bartók composed the Dance Suite in 1923 in order to celebrate the union of the cities Buda

Buda

For detailed information see: History of Buda CastleBuda is the western part of the Hungarian capital Budapest on the west bank of the Danube. The name Buda takes its name from the name of Bleda the Hun ruler, whose name is also Buda in Hungarian.Buda comprises about one-third of Budapest's...

 and Pest, in what now is commonly known as Budapest

Budapest

Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...

, the Hungarian capital. Then, after its great success, the director of Universal Edition

Universal Edition

Universal Edition is a classical music publishing firm. Founded in 1901 in Vienna, and originally intended to provide the core classical works and educational works to the Austrian market...

, Emil Hertzka

Emil Hertzka

----Emil Hertzka was an influential and pioneering music publisher who was responsible for printing and promoting some of the most important European musical works of the 20th century.-Early life and education:...

, commissioned him an easy arrangement for piano, which was published in 1925. However, he never performed a version of his own in a recital, and the arrangement was premiered in March 1945, a few months before his death, by his friend György Sándor

György Sándor

György Sándor was a Hungarian pianist, writer, student and friend of Béla Bartók, and champion of his music.- Early years :...

.

Structure

This suite has six movements, even though some recordings conceive it as one single full-length movement. A typical performance of the whole work would last approximately fifteen minutes.

• I. Moderato
• II. Allegro molto
• III. Allegro vivace
• IV. Molto tranquillo
• V. Comodo
• VI. Finale. Allegro

This work consists on five dances with Arabic, Wallachian and Hungarian

Hungarian folk music

Hungarian folk music includes a broad array of styles, including the recruitment dance verbunkos, the csárdás and nóta.During the 20th century, Hungarian composers were influenced by the traditional music of their nation which may be considered as a repeat of the early "nationalist" movement of the...

 melodies, and a finale that brings together all the previous thematic sketches. There was one more movement, omitted by the composer according to his mathematical principles

Golden ratio

In mathematics and the arts, two quantities are in the golden ratio if the ratio of the sum of the quantities to the larger quantity is equal to the ratio of the larger quantity to the smaller one. The golden ratio is an irrational mathematical constant, approximately 1.61803398874989...

, which would be placed between the second and the third movement. This movement is called Slovakian Dance

Slovakian Dance

Slovakian Dance is a piece for solo piano by Hungarian composer Béla Bartók. It was presumably composed in 1923, but it had not been published until 1999.- Composition :...

, and was finally dismissed and remained unorchestated. However, the movement No. 1 called Moderato contains thematic references to this piece towards the end thereof.

Recordings

Notable recordings of the orchestral version include:

Orchestra	Conductor	Record Company	Year of Recording	Format
London Philharmonic Orchestra London Philharmonic Orchestra The London Philharmonic Orchestra , based in London, is one of the major orchestras of the United Kingdom, and is based in the Royal Festival Hall. In addition, the LPO is the main resident orchestra of the Glyndebourne Festival Opera...	Georg Solti Georg Solti Sir Georg Solti, KBE, was a Hungarian-British orchestral and operatic conductor. He was a major classical recording artist, holding the record for having received the most Grammy Awards, having personally won 31 as a conductor, including the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. In addition to his...	Decca Records Decca Records Decca Records began as a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; however, owing to World War II, the link with the British company was broken for several decades....	1952	LP
RIAS Symphony Orchestra	Ferenc Fricsay Ferenc Fricsay Ferenc Fricsay was a Hungarian conductor. From 1960 until his death, he was an Austrian citizen.Fricsay was born in Budapest in 1914 and studied music under Béla Bartók, Zoltán Kodály, Ernst von Dohnányi, and Leo Weiner. Fricsay had a meteoric rise to fame, making his first appearance as a...	Deutsche Grammophon Deutsche Grammophon Deutsche Grammophon is a German classical record label which was the foundation of the future corporation to be known as PolyGram. It is now part of Universal Music Group since its acquisition and absorption of PolyGram in 1999, and it is also UMG's oldest active label...	1953	LP
Philharmonia Orchestra Philharmonia Orchestra The Philharmonia Orchestra is one of the leading orchestras in Great Britain, based in London. Since 1995, it has been based in the Royal Festival Hall. In Britain it is also the resident orchestra at De Montfort Hall, Leicester and the Corn Exchange, Bedford, as well as The Anvil, Basingstoke...	Igor Markevitch Igor Markevitch Igor Markevitch was a Ukrainian, Italian, and French composer and conductor.- Origin :Igor Markevich was born in Kiev, to an old family of Ukrainian Cossack starshyna ennobled in the 18th century...	HMV	1954	LP
Philharmonia Hungarica Philharmonia Hungarica The Philharmonia Hungarica was a symphony orchestra, based in Germany, which existed from 1956 to 2001.It was first established in Baden bei Wien near Vienna by Hungarian musicians who had fled their homeland after it was invaded by Soviet troops...	Antal Doráti Antal Doráti Antal Doráti, KBE was a Hungarian-born conductor and composer who became a naturalized American citizen in 1947.-Biography:...	Mercury Records Mercury Records Mercury Records is a record label operating as a standalone company in the UK and as part of the Island Def Jam Motown Music Group in the US; both are subsidiaries of Universal Music Group. There is also a Mercury Records in Australia, which is a local artist and repertoire division of Universal...	1958	LP
Symphony Orchestra of Hungarian Radio and Television	György Lehel	Deutsche Grammophon Deutsche Grammophon Deutsche Grammophon is a German classical record label which was the foundation of the future corporation to be known as PolyGram. It is now part of Universal Music Group since its acquisition and absorption of PolyGram in 1999, and it is also UMG's oldest active label...	1962	LP
Orchestre de la Suisse Romande Orchestre de la Suisse Romande The Orchestre de la Suisse Romande is a Swiss symphony orchestra, based in Geneva at the Victoria Hall...	Ernest Ansermet Ernest Ansermet Ernest Alexandre Ansermet was a Swiss conductor.- Biography :Ansermet was born in Vevey, Switzerland. Although he was a contemporary of Wilhelm Furtwängler and Otto Klemperer, Ansermet represents in most ways a very different tradition and approach from those two musicians. Originally he was a...	Decca Records Decca Records Decca Records began as a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; however, owing to World War II, the link with the British company was broken for several decades....	1964	LP
New York Philharmonic Orchestra	Pierre Boulez Pierre Boulez Pierre Boulez is a French composer of contemporary classical music, a pianist, and a conductor.-Early years:Boulez was born in Montbrison, Loire, France. As a child he began piano lessons and demonstrated aptitude in both music and mathematics...	Columbia Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...	1972	LP
Czech Philharmonic Orchestra Czech Philharmonic Orchestra The Česká filharmonie is a symphony orchestra based in Prague and is the best-known and most respected orchestra in the Czech Republic.- History :...	Zdeněk Košler Zdenek Košler Zdeněk Košler was a Czech conductor, who played an important role in Czech musical life of the second half of 20th century, notably during the sixties and the eighties. He was particularly well-known as an opera conductor....	Panton Panton Records Panton Records or PANTON was a Czechoslovakian and later Czech record label and music publishing house of the Czech Music Fund, founded in 1968.In Czechoslovakia it was one of the three major state-owned labels, the other two being Supraphon and Opus....	1973	LP
Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra The Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra is an orchestra based in Stuttgart in Germany. The ensemble was founded in 1945 by American occupation authorities as the orchestra for Radio Stuttgart, under the name Sinfonieorchester von Radio Stuttgart...	Neville Marriner Neville Marriner Sir Neville Marriner is an English conductor and violinist.-Biography:Marriner was born in Lincoln and studied at the Royal College of Music and the Paris Conservatoire. He played the violin in the Philharmonia Orchestra, the Martin String Quartet and London Symphony Orchestra, playing with the...	Capriccio Naxos Records Naxos Records is a record label specializing in classical music. Through a number of imprints, Naxos also releases genres including Chinese music, jazz, world music, and early rock & roll. The company was founded in 1987 by Klaus Heymann, a German-born resident of Hong Kong.Naxos is the largest...	1994	CD
Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra The Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra is an English orchestra. Originally based in Bournemouth, the BSO moved its offices to the adjacent town of Poole in 1979....	Marin Alsop Marin Alsop Marin Alsop is an American conductor and violinist. She is the music director of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra.In 2012, Alsop will replace Yan Pascal Tortelier as principal conductor of the São Paulo State Symphony Orchestra....	Naxos Records Naxos Records Naxos Records is a record label specializing in classical music. Through a number of imprints, Naxos also releases genres including Chinese music, jazz, world music, and early rock & roll. The company was founded in 1987 by Klaus Heymann, a German-born resident of Hong Kong.Naxos is the largest...	2005	CD

Notable recordings of the piano reduction include:

Piano Solo	Record Company	Year of Recording	Format
András Schiff András Schiff András Schiff is a Hungarian-born British classical pianist, who has won a number of awards including the Grammy and made numerous recordings.- Biography :...	Denon Records Denon Records Denon Records was a Japanese record label owned by Denon, distributed by A&M Records from 1990 through 1992. This was a reissue program that included 390 jazz and classical music titles that were issued on compact disc.-Artists:*Eliane Elias*Peter Erskine...  / Brilliant Classics Brilliant Classics Brilliant Classics is a Dutch classical music record label, based in Leeuwarden, formerly part of Foreign Media Music BV, but since March 2011 acquired by Triacta. The company is notable for its ultra-budget market approach turning around decline in classical records sales with "Complete Mozart...	1980	CD
Jenő Jandó Jeno Jandó Jenő Jandó is a Hungarian pianist and Professor of the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest, Hungary.He studied piano at the Liszt Academy with Katalin Nemes and Pál Kadosa, later going on to win many major international piano competitions, including the Georges Cziffra and Ciani Piano...	Naxos Records Naxos Records Naxos Records is a record label specializing in classical music. Through a number of imprints, Naxos also releases genres including Chinese music, jazz, world music, and early rock & roll. The company was founded in 1987 by Klaus Heymann, a German-born resident of Hong Kong.Naxos is the largest...	2005	CD