Béla Bartók: Improvisations On Hungarian Peasant Songs Op.20: Piano:

Béla Bartók Complete Critical Edition Volume 38. Par BARTOK BELA. The third volume in the Complete Edition contains Bartók's works for piano solo composed between 1914 and 1920. Bartók's pianistic oeuvre from the years of World War I span a broadly varied spectrum; in addition to simple arrangements of folk music (15 Hungarian Peasant Songs, Sonatina) and original pieces for the concert podium (Suite, op. 14), we find Bartók's audaciously innovative Etudes (op. 18) inspired by Liszt, as well as Improvisations (op. 20), perhaps his most abstract and original folk music adaptations. The appendix of the volume reproduces movements originally intended for, but eventually discarded from, Suite and 15 Hungarian Peasant Songs, as well as all original sources for the folk-inspired pieces. The introductory essays in English, Hungarian, and German not only explore the genesis and reception of the works more thoroughly than ever before, but also orient the reader in issues of notation and performance. The critical commentary presents all manuscript and print sources of the works in detail (including folk music sources), it documents the compositional processes and surveys the range of textual variants and problems. / Somfai, László / Répertoire / Piano

Bartók is regarded as one of the most important composers of the 20th century. He became famous both as a music teacher and as an ethnomusicologist. Being a trained pianist, his relation to the piano certainly was very special and is reflected in numerous piano works.This comprehensive collection of selected piano works by Bartók is a rich source of his most beautiful pieces, including the two complete volumes For Children. / Piano