Sonata for two pianos and percussion
Encyclopedia
Béla Bartók
wrote his Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion, Sz. 110, BB 115 for the International Society for Contemporary Music
in 1937 and it was premiered by him and his second wife, Ditta Pásztory-Bartók, as the pianists, and percussionists Saul Goodman and Henry Deneke, at the ISCM anniversary concert of 16 January 1938. It received enthusiastic reviews and has since become one of his most performed works.
The score requires four performers, two pianists and two percussionists, who play seven instruments between them: timpani
, bass drum
(gran cassa), cymbal
s, triangle
, snare drum
(both on- and off- snares), tam-tam (gong) and xylophone
.
.
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...
wrote his Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion, Sz. 110, BB 115 for the International Society for Contemporary Music
International Society for Contemporary Music
The International Society for Contemporary Music is a music organization that promotes contemporary classical music.ISCM was established in 1922, in Salzburg. Its core activity is the World Music Days Festival, held every year at a different location. The festival includes cutting edge productions...
in 1937 and it was premiered by him and his second wife, Ditta Pásztory-Bartók, as the pianists, and percussionists Saul Goodman and Henry Deneke, at the ISCM anniversary concert of 16 January 1938. It received enthusiastic reviews and has since become one of his most performed works.
The score requires four performers, two pianists and two percussionists, who play seven instruments between them: timpani
Timpani
Timpani, or kettledrums, are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum, they consist of a skin called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionally made of copper. They are played by striking the head with a specialized drum stick called a timpani stick or timpani mallet...
, bass drum
Bass drum
Bass drums are percussion instruments that can vary in size and are used in several musical genres. Three major types of bass drums can be distinguished. The type usually seen or heard in orchestral, ensemble or concert band music is the orchestral, or concert bass drum . It is the largest drum of...
(gran cassa), cymbal
Cymbal
Cymbals are a common percussion instrument. Cymbals consist of thin, normally round plates of various alloys; see cymbal making for a discussion of their manufacture. The greater majority of cymbals are of indefinite pitch, although small disc-shaped cymbals based on ancient designs sound a...
s, triangle
Triangle
A triangle is one of the basic shapes of geometry: a polygon with three corners or vertices and three sides or edges which are line segments. A triangle with vertices A, B, and C is denoted ....
, snare drum
Snare drum
The snare drum or side drum is a melodic percussion instrument with strands of snares made of curled metal wire, metal cable, plastic cable, or gut cords stretched across the drumhead, typically the bottom. Pipe and tabor and some military snare drums often have a second set of snares on the bottom...
(both on- and off- snares), tam-tam (gong) and xylophone
Xylophone
The xylophone is a musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of wooden bars struck by mallets...
.
Assai lento - Allegro troppo
Lento, ma non troppo
This movement displays the classical "middle movement" ternary a-b-a form. It is an example of Bartók's "night music" idiomNight music (Bartók)
Night Music is a musical style of the Hungarian composer Béla Bartók which he used mostly in slow movements of multi-movement ensemble or orchestra compositions in his mature period...
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