Description
The definitive 1987 edition of the classic piano teaching work Mikrokosmos includes an introduction by composer Béla Bartók's son, Peter Bartók, and features text in English, French, German, and Hungarian. In 1945, Bartók described Mikrokosmos as a cycle of 153 pieces for piano, written for "didactic" (teaching) purposes and representing a "small world" or "world of the little ones, the children" in a variety of musical styles. Stylistically, Mikrokosmos reflects the influence of folk music on Bartók's compositional approach, and its rhythms and harmonies remain strikingly modern even today. The 153 pieces are divided into six volumes of increasing technical and musical difficulty. Key teaching points highlighted in the final volume, Mikrokosmos 6, include divided arpeggios, minor seconds, major sevenths, and ostinato.
