Classical Music | Piano Music

Recorded on 08/03/2016, uploaded on 03/14/2017

Musician's or Publisher's Notes

I.     Quarrel
II.    Slightly Tipsy
III.   Capriccioso

In the middle of the concert program, we find Béla Bartók and Domenico Scarlatti, two composers stylistically and geographically distant but, nonetheless, connected to Brazilian music in direct and indirect ways. Béla Bartók created music inspired by rich folkloric resources of his native Hungary and neighboring countries, a practice well developed in Brazil since the beginning of the 20th century, especially by Villa Lobos. Bartók’s Three Burlesques, composed between 1908 and 1911, display very simple textures, almost Scarlattian in their clarity of ideas and counterpoint writing. The first one, Quarrel, dedicated to his first wife Márta Ziegler, is a frenetic race in unison, with very loud punches of dissonant chords, halted by an episode of slow and sad whining, and ending in an impassioned and violent manner. The second, Slightly Tipsy, utilizes a Hungarian folk song as the main tune, distorted by clashing sounds and exaggerated use of rubato. The third one, Capriccioso, is an example of Bartók’s night music, which uses small, clustered intervals to mimic the sounds of nature, such as chirping, sprightly bugs, and fluttering leaves.     Victor Cayres

Courtesy of International Music Foundation.