This set of dances consists of six movements and, according to the composer, it should take four minutes and three seconds to perform, but most professional pianists take up to five minutes. The list of the movements is as follows (with the original Hungarian title listed first, the most commonly known Romanian title second, and the English translation in parentheses):
The melody of the first movement, according to Bartók, came from the Mezőszabad (present-day
Voiniceni) village that was part of
Mezőcsávás (present-day
Ceuașu de Câmpie) commune which was located in the
Maros-Torda administrative county within
Transylvania, and he first heard it when two gypsy violinists were playing it.[3]
Brâul (Sash Dance)
The second movement is a typical dance from Romania called Brâul, for which traditionally a sash or a waistband was used. This melody came from Egres (present-day
Igriș), in the
Banat region.[1]
Topogó / Pe loc (In One Spot)
The third dance comes also from Egres (
Igriș), but its theme is much darker and its melody recreates
Middle Eastern instruments, such as the flute.[4]
The fifth dance is an old Romanian dance similar to the Polka and comes from Belényes (present-day
Beiuş, in
Bihor county), near the border between Hungary and Romania.[6]
The sixth and last dance is formed by two different melodies: the first from Belényes (present-day
Beiuș) and the second from the village of Nyagra (present-day Neagra) within the Palotailva (present-day
Lunca Bradului) commune.[9] In both the orchestral version and the original piano version, the final two dances are performed attacca—without a break between movements.[10]
Key Centre A; first part begins with Lydian, but is in Mixolydian; second part is in Dorian
Arrangements
Aside from the version Bartók wrote for a small orchestral ensemble, some of Bartók's friends wrote adaptations or transcriptions of this piece for several different ensembles. The following are the best-known:
Zoltán Székely's version for violin and piano. This is not just a transcription, but also an arrangement and adaptation of the piece for these two instruments. Some of the modifications Székely made included transposing some of the movements (the second movement was transposed from D minor to F♯ minor, the third from B minor to D minor and the fourth from A major to C major), repeating some sections, adding bars, and using several techniques for the violin such as
artificial harmonics,
double stops, and
Sautillé.[5]
Notable recordings
Notable recordings of this composition include the following:
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abThis movement is only present in the orchestrated version, as it is part of the sixth dance. Although most recordings set this track list for the orchestrated version, this last movement is part of the previous movement