Bartók plays Bartók Six Dances in Bulgarian Rhythm (from "Mikrokosmos")

[@alexdjuric7056]

1, 0:00 2, 2:04 3, 3:15 4, 4:30 5, 6:02 6, 7:14

[@allenb5288]

Thanks!

[@themusicprofessor]

Bartok's playing is so wonderful: the lyrical sound, the musicality of his phrasing, the subtle rubato and expressivity of his rhythmic patterns. Nothing is metronomic, abrasive or harsh.

[@fazergazer]

You can really tell the pianist understands the intent of the composer!!❤

[@keybawd]

Sadly so many pianists have taken the attitude that Bartok's piano music must be percussive. Everyone playing Bartok should listen to these performances. Apart from the lovely piano sound Bartok produces, I marvel at the wonderful rhythm. Thanks for posting.

[@aleksandarjankovski4575]

I wholeheartedly agree. I admit that I was expecting very percussive approach and was very (pleasantly!) surprised by his playing.

[@emilianoturazzi]

yes I understand your point and I partially agree - partially because composer's point of view isn't the only possible one and not necessarily the most interesting and/or appropriate (and I am speaking as a composer). beside that this performance is really good.

[@man0sticks]

@@MrCinemuso Nothing inappropriate about Emiliano’s use of the word appropriate.

[@o_polichinelo]

Wow we're so lucky to listen to his music played by HIMSELF

[@fazergazer]

I love how in many places each piece imitates the sound and timbre of the various folk instruments.

[@petersturmey2789]

This is such beautiful playing. As others have noted not at all percussive, but lyrical and cantabile. The rhythmic complexity is completely subservient to the music and the balance of the parts. Wonderful rubato, leading with the left hand, a very light touch (listen to BB play Scarlatti1) etc. What a gift to hear this 🙂

[@gerardbegni2806]

What a treasure! The apex of Microkosmos played by Bartok himself ... in a way so different from the way how many pianists consider that Bartok must be played.

[@RasiRon]

We are blessed to have this recording.

[@sanmarinojr]

This music touches the soul, especially mine as I'm Bulgarian, and I'm proud of my culture! I'm also a musician and must admit I hardly find any music that has so unusual time signatures working so well! Bela plays exceptionally, I hear blues,swing,Gershwin mostly, and many folk motives, leitmotifs, thanks for this gem! :)

[@clementreid907]

Somewhat like Benjamin Britten, Bartok is also a stunning pianist as well as one of the great composers of all time. What fabulous music!

[@JohannesSNugroho]

Wow, the simplicity, the elegance, the effortlessness, the sensitivity, the beautiful tone, exquisite singing line! Sadly this is my first time listening to his own playing. I immediately fall in love after so many years bombarded by the banging performances of so many that claim to be correctly, legally "percussive" ... my perspective is so completely changed! transformed!

[@aleksandarjankovski4575]

I wholeheartedly agree. I admit that I, too, was expecting very percussive approach and was very (pleasantly!) surprised by his playing.

[@JohannesSNugroho]

@@aleksandarjankovski4575 around 1996-1999, I was studying with Gyorgy Sebok, a great Hungarian pianist. I heard him giving an example of a Bartok piece. It was beautiful, exactly the quality of musicianships in this recording, and I liked it very much but I silently thought that it was my teacher's style of Bartok, not Bartok's Bartok. Now, i deeply regret i did not learn more of Bartok from him.

[@JohannesSNugroho]

@@aleksandarjankovski4575 kzbin.info/www/bejne/oZnHaaGnr9CrhKs

[@pianopera]

@berlinzerberus Yes, I agree! The central idea or concept in these pieces is the irregular time signature, the unusual rhythmic patterns that can be heard in Bulgarian folk music, such as 3+2/8, or even 2+2+3/8... but that's not all there is: as Bartók's performance makes clear, conveying a sense of tonal beauty and "singing" the melodies in an expressive way, bringing out the polyphony, taking care of the dynamics -- all those things are at least as important as playing the rhythms correctly...

[@Freeknowledgefan]

Bartok was a truly great pianist. I learned so much about his music from listening to his recordings of his and other composers music.

[@fazergazer]

Some of Bartók is percussive, some melodic, a mix. ❤

[@tigerfishgirl]

I came here for the Bartok-plays-Bartok and was so delightfully surprised to discover Vladimir Dimitrov-Maistora. That's for the double whammy!

[@kimdramer1641]

I feel so privileged to be able to hear Bartok play these compositions. And some of the comments have really helped me understand his music better. Thanks to all--and thanks for the courteous tone in these comments. So refreshing to hear folks actually talking about the music and sharing ideas.

[@jimthompson606]

My experience with KZbin is that quality of the comments matches the quality of the video.

[@emilianoturazzi]

@@jimthompson606 not always uluckily :)

[@shin-i-chikozima]

「Bartok plays Bartok 」 is our treasure

[@joostwinter]

What a magnificient performance, compositions, and style! Almost sounds like progressive folk rock (of the best type)! ;)

[@emilianoturazzi]

mm it's the opposite :) progressive folk rock sounds like Bartok :) unless you listen to Ivo Papazov that's a completely different (and bulgarian) thing

[@vladobado657]

@@emilianoturazzi kzbin.info/www/bejne/maTbZZmqnMx2l7M :)

[@billwalderman3943]

Thanks for the music and the images.

[@nickhirst999]

Amazing quality recording for 1940.

[@berlinzerberus]

Diese Tänze im Bulgarischen Rhythmus, wahrhaft große Musik! Interessant wie weich und 'romantisch' der Komponist seine eigenen Werke spielt. Der erste Tanz klingt ja stellenweise wie Debussy, sehr klanglich bestimmt und weniger perkussiv, wie man es oft hört. Welch ein großartiger Pianist Bartok doch war, sein Ton ist wirklich außerordentlich schön. Danke für das wunderbare Tondokument!

[@anthonymccarthy4164]

The entire 6th volume is great music, much of the earlier volumes, as well.

[@shermanngjazz]

These are some precious recordings indeed!!!!

[@Rosiesmathchannel]

00:00 1 02:05 2 03:16 3 04:30 4 05:58 5 07:14 6

[@shermanngjazz]

So far I've only manage to play #4 and #6, but someday I'll learn the rest of them...

[@dr.johnbrunn1550]

I wish I could have heard this a long time ago. Not all composers play their own music this well.

[@brucekuehn4031]

My goodness - how very modern this sounds

[@MrGer2295]

Wow! Amazing! Thank you for postig!

[@bootman26]

I want that piano! It's like the instrument I grew up with, an old upright with soft hammers.

[@ivankuzin8388]

Who else is here from Virgin Rock? :)

[@snowcarriagechengcheng-hun3454]

Thanks for uploading!

[@johndoily9407]

I like the drunken rhythm and liberal use of pedal in spite of the staccato markings. Also the violence---works fine for the last dance, but a bit much in the playful, lighthearted ones!

[@andrearodigari4840]

I'm Italian. And I love Bela Bartok!!!!!

[@berlinzerberus]

@pianopera That´s definitely true! The romantic parameters like pedalling to modify transparency, the accelerando and ritardando and the 'romantic' respectively 'impressionistic' approach in musical expression and tone played by the composer himself, it was completely amazing for me. But you can also play the Schönberg op.33 that way but it would rather be not so convincing interpretatively I guess. Bartók has shown us the way in this, very beautiful!

[@PushkarCarlotto]

Having learned from the amanuensis of Schönberg himself, we were told that even his music is played too often wrong, as he wanted it to be played as one would play romantic music, with warmth and expressive emotions, and without aggressiveness. I think most people do not get that those dissonances (which should not be perceived as such) are to be played with care and tone colour, just as colourful brushstrokes on a painting. (By the way, Schönberg was a "painter" too!)

[@PaulVinonaama]

@@PushkarCarlotto Yes, and I would add that Schoenberg needs, in my view, lots of agogic or rubato not only for expressive reasons but for making the phrasing clear in the absence of cadential formulae.

[@emilianoturazzi]

@@PushkarCarlotto Schoenberg was actually a romantic composer - an extreme one.

[@PushkarCarlotto]

@@emilianoturazzi Yes, indeed. I studied with his student and secretary, and that's what he told us too.

[@rainerlanglotz3134]

Dave Brubeck must have studied this in his early years.

[@helgalinuxen9497]

The time signature is boom!!! How'd you arrage that?? 😍😍

[@wandahelenagorecka-fichten9258]

Wspaniała muzyka i interpretacja oraz nowoczesne ciekawe malarstwo

[@huskytail]

The paintings are from Vladimir Dimitrov- Maistora. An amazing Bulgarian painter from the beginning of the 20th century, who painted in this very striking way mostly scenes of everyday life from the area he's from in Bulgaria. He also visited Poland, twice I believe, together with many other countries in Europe and also the United States.

[@gerardcraig]

Anyone else come here from Virgin Rock?

[@tanklessleaf4166]

Is it just me watching this for the module or is there more?

[@lorrainelager852]

Rather violent in the last one, but it works!

[@amievil3697]

How strange! I was just thinking today while listening to CPR Classical, who knows how beethoven or Mozart wanted it to sound? Its just squiggly wigglies on papaer. Even a trained pro who can read the S.W. is really just interpreting them. And then, this dude! Seriously!! today! This dude! How the Fudge can anyone read this and be like oh yeah, like this. I play basic blues/rock guitar moderatley and you could use a thousands words to describe this, this, this thing and I wouldn';t get it

[@palmaiattila3288]

I can only recommend: look for a recording when playing Scarlatti or Romanian dances...

[@brianmacdonald5524]

where would one obtain a copy of six dances in Bulgarian rhythm dance no. 2

[@o_polichinelo]

Search "IMSLP" , it has almost every sheet music in the world. It also has some recordings :)

[@lryl9130]

The scores are available on imslp

[@evamartinez1230]

Que interesante, muy moderno

[@garygrinkevich6971]

Just like Van Halen! 😃

[@o_polichinelo]

Hi, I'm learning the six dances in Bulgarian rhythm and suite op.14. I hated Bartók before, but now I'm trying to like his music but I'm still feeling weird listening to his piece. I'm wondering what is the meaning of 4+2+3/8.

[@umbrellashotgunman]

Have you heard Bulgarian folk music? It's replete with irregular time signatures (13/16, 22/16, 11/8, etc), ALL of which are meant to be danced to; the apparent reason why Bulgarian dancers can pull it off is because they think of it in terms of how many "quick" and "slow" beats are in a phrase (and how they're ordered, of course). Specifically, the rhythm you're asking about is used in the Daichovo horo dance, an example of which can be seen in the following link: kzbin.info/www/bejne/iqXRinmLiNWja8U

[@vivvpprof]

I can only add to the preceding excellent comment, that 4+2+3 means what it is, it means one group of four eighth notes, one group of two eighth notes and one group of three eighth notes, all tied together and forming one composite measure.

[@jayspenceranderson]

Bartok always has struck me as being the composer (at least post 1800) with the most integrity.

[@largebill1245]

@@jayspenceranderson I think ligeti also had loads of integrity. He composed what he wanted and didn’t limit himself to any particular school.

[@ivailopartchev5492]

It may be just me but I think that the psychological reason behind the extra note in the measure is that you want to steal time. You are dancing, you jump, and you want to float in the air for a while. Defy gravity.

[@walterpiana9137]

omg, thanks a lot....

[@brandonscherrer]

This is Bartok playing?

[@rowanbelt3612]

Yes.

[@heatedice2350]

omaii, walang masagot

[@rianelaizasarmiento5607]

rel8

[@The_Essential_Light]

Take a listen to the song Mean Street by the band Van Halen and then come back here.

[@o_polichinelo]

Who dislike this?