On the Origins of Bartók's Mikrokosmos

On the Origins of Bartók's Mikrokosmos Author(s): Vera Lampert Source: Studia Musicologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae, T. 39, Fasc. 1 (1998), pp. 123-137 Published by: Akadémiai Kiadó Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/902511 Accessed: 14-12-2016 15:15 UTC JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected].

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On the Origins of Bart6k's Mikrokosmos* Vera LAMPERT Framingham, MA

In his last interview in Hungary, Bart6k mentioned the following facts,

among others, about the origin of his recently published six-volume pedagogical work, the Mikrokosmos: ... Margit Varr6's critical remarks about my former piano method, so much criticized in its time, were very useful. I had a copy of my piano method at hand,

with Mrs. Varr6's notes: I wrote many pieces of the Mikrokosmos taking these notes into consideration.I

Although the Mikrokosmos has an extensive literature, research has not yet scrutinized the two, apparently very important points on the origins of the

work, implied by the above statement: the role of Margit Varr6 and the Bart6k-Reschofsky Piano Method. Looking closely at related documents, I would like to clarify the significance of Varr6's re-commendations in the structure of the Mikrokosmos and the way Bart6k utilized the Piano Method during his work on the Mikrokosmos. Margit Varr6 was born in 1881, the same year as Bart6k. 2 At the Buda-

pest Academy of Music, she was a student of Arpid Szendy. In 1907-1908 she taught at the Fodor Zeneiskola, a well-known music school in Budapest. In 1919-1920 she directed the teacher-training program at the Budapest Academy of Music. Varr6 was also a prolific writer. Her books and articles, * This article was originally published in Hungarian in Zenetudomcinyi Tanulminyok Kro6 Gyorgy tiszteletere, ed. Mirta Papp. Budapest 1996, pp. 205-214. i Interview with Mikl6s Szentj6bi in Magyar Nemzet, Oct. 3, 1940. Republished in Bart6k brevicirium (Levelek - irdsok - dokumentumok), compiled by J6zsef Ujfalussy, ed. by Vera Lampert. 3rd ed. Budapest 1980, pp. 509-513. Unless stated otherwise, all translations from the Hungarian are mine.

2 The following summary of Margit Varr6's career is based on her autobiography, published in Ket vildgrjsz tanara: Varrd Margit, ed. by Mariann Abraham, Budapest 1991, p. 584.

Studia Musicologica .4cademiae Scientiarum lHungaricae 39/1. 1998 pp. 123-13 7

0039-3266/97/$ 5.00 ? 1998 Akadcmiai Kiad6, Budapest


124 Vera Lampert

several of them published in Ger journals, deal with both theoretica and music education in general. H nevelks, killinds tekintettel az els6"

tanitas methodikaja)3 [Piano teachi teaching method of the first thre

ners)], is not only a practical metho

mary of Varr6's ideas on developi the psychological aspects of teachi of piano technique and the criteria familiar with her accomplishment dation he wrote for her testifies:

I know Mrs. Varr6's work as a piano-t

piano-teaching for many years and I feel

days. Her book on piano-teaching has never become out of date. - I had also piano- teaching.4

As her publications and notes te

pieces of the Bart6k-Reschofsky Consequently, she was the most r

Bart6k of the advantages and sh

brought to light the story of her ro Mikrokosmos in 1961. Since it was with piano novices in mind that [Bart6k] began to map out the elementary material for his Mikrokosmos, he decided to talk things over with someone familiar with the training of children and of teachers. I had led seminars which included the demonstration-teaching of beginners.

One book of mine on piano teaching had already been published and a second was about to be issued.6 Knowing of my work, Bart6k turned to me for my views on how a systematic teaching program for the early grades could best be worked out.

3 Budapest 1921. 4 In English. Published in Hungarian in Zenei irasok, el6adcsok, visszemlikezdsek, ed. Lili Veszpr6mi. Budapest 1980, p. 7. I would like to thank Mariann Abrahim for sending me the facsimile of the original document.

5 See e.g. Ket vilagrdsz tandra, pp. 37, 41, 48, 59, and 69. 6 For the book already published, see note 3 above. The book in press: Der lebendige Klavierunterricht, seine Methodik undPsychologie, Berlin 1929.

Studia Muxicologica .4cademiae Scienliarum Hungaricae 39. 1998


On the Origins of Bart6k s Mikrokosmos 125 What he asked for in the first place was a sketch of the steps I followed in teaching beginners. Secondly, he wanted to know why, in my opinion, the defunct piano method containing his illustrative little pieces had failed as a pedagogic work. And, thirdly, he asked me to bring up anything that could be pertaining to the first stages of his project.

Knowing how conscientious and meticulous he was in everything he undertook, I prepared for our interview a concise list of suggestions, all of which had been sufficiently tested and vindicated by practical results. We then discussed and

clarified point by point: the nature of the musical and technical material to be

included; the pedagogic purposes it should serve and the order in which the chosen material should be presented.

I jotted Bart6k' s comments onto my typed sheets as we went along. He requested a copy for future reference, remarking that a great deal of the material

to implement the points we had agreed on still had to be written ...7

While the typed sheets Varr6 prepared for her meeting with Bart6k have

not surfaced yet among Bart6k's papers, the copy of the Piano Method with Varr6's annotations Bart6k mentioned in his above-cited interview survived in the estate of the composer's elder son, Bl1a.8

The commission to write the Piano Method came from the publisher R6zsav lgyi for Bart6k who, not being experienced in the teaching of begin-

ners, accepted the charge with the condition of Saindor Reschofsky's co-operation. They completed the work in the Spring of 1913 which was published in the same year.

There is no other Bart6k work published in the composer's lifetime which received so little attention in the Bart6k literature as the pieces Bart6k

wrote for the Piano Method. Although the 18 pieces taken from the Piano

Method and republished in 1929 as Kezd6'k zongoramuzsik6ja [The First Term at the Piano] became a standard part of the teaching of beginners in Hungary, they were recorded only twice besides the recordings made for the

Complete Edition of Bart6k compositions9 and they were never analyzed ex7 "Bart6k's Mikrokosmos in Retrospect", in: The Piano Teacher 3 (1961), pp. 2-8. In Hungarian translation: Zenei irdsok, pp. 92-105. 8 Photocopy in the Budapest Bart6k Archives. My thanks to Lszl6 Somfai, Director ofthe Budapest Bart6k

Archives for providing me with documents for this article. I would also like to express my gratitude to Liszl6 Vikirius of the Budapest Bart6k Archives for his generosity in sharing with me all the information he collected about Margit Varr6.

9 Hungaroton SLPX 11336 (Dezs6 Rinki); Musical Heritage Society MHS 1842 (Sahan Arzruni); Philips 442016-2 (Zoltan Kocsis)

Studia Musicologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 39, 1998


126 Vera Lampert

cept for the liner-notes of the recor

provided for the Piano Method noth

not belong to the body of Bart6k's m

This oversight is probably due to t

lication what was written for it b

while, however, the authorship of t

been clarified. Benjamin Suchoff w Piano in 1981, referred to some in

Sandor Reschofsky in which he disc ano Method.10 Suchoff failed to qu which maybe literature so far.

the reason that his dat

Reschofsky's handwritten memoirs are kept in the Music Department of the National Sz6ch6nyi Library;'2 its photocopy is found in the Budapest Bart6k Archives. It is worth quoting from the document Reschofsky's statement concerning the division of authorship. [After accepting the commission] the two authors - on the recommendation of Be1a Bart6k - agreed that no one ever should know who wrote what for the Piano Method, how the individual authors contributed to its structure. B1la Bart6k did

not keep this agreement. 16 years later, in 1929 he published 18 of the pieces written for the Piano Method in a separate book called The First Term at the Piano, without the knowledge and consent of SaIndor Reschofsky, not even mentioning where these pieces came from. It seems, that in 1929 B&la Bart6k did not want to identify himself with the other pieces written for the Piano Method.

30 years after B6la Bart6k unilaterally broke the agreement, Sandor Reschofsky

wishes to clarify some rumors about the Piano Method, thinking that he can confidently bring to light the following: every music note and word of the Bart6k-Reschofsky Piano Method was conceived by the two authors'joint effort and after their discussion and mutual control in a way that Sandor Reschofsky built up the structure of the method and wrote the exercises and B&la Bart6k wrote

the character pieces fashioned after the exercises. More exactly: B&la Bart6k wrote everything provided with metronome markings, that is with m.m. Due to a printing error the m. m. marking is missing at no. 92 but this was also written by

Bela Bart6k. SSandor Reschofsky wrote everything without m. m. markings. 10 Piano Music ofBila Bart6k, 2nd series. New York: Dover Publications, 1981, p. xxiii. 11 Even the most recent summary of Bart6k's pedagogical activity ignores the data Suchoff provided: "Bart6k's... educational compositions involved the writing of easy pieces for the Piano Method (1913) of Sandor

Reschofsky, which were also published separately as The First Term at the Piano." (Malcolm Gillies: "The Teacher", in The Bart6k Companion, ed. Malcolm Gillies, London 1993, p. 84-85.) 12 Mus. Th. 52.

Studia Musicologica .4cademiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 39. 1998


On the Origins of Bartdk's Mikrokosmos 127

If Reschofsky's memory is to be trusted, Bart6k wrote no less t of the 120 pieces of the Piano Method.13 This is such a significant

material - about one third of the whole Mikrokosmos - that it should a

attention by its quantity alone. In most pieces Bart6k's hand is quite ob

no. 7, for example, is identical to the first half of no. 2 of the Mikrok

no. 33 is a folk-song imitation; some, as nos. 46, 55, 59, 78, 83 and closely related to the pieces of For Children and several pieces (as n 29, 57, 73, 82 and 109) seem to serve as preliminary studies to the kosmos. The more complex character pieces towards the end of th Method are equally interesting but less "bart6kian". They are stylist ies in preparation of the easy pieces of Bach and Schumann (nos. 10 105, 114 and 120) and they call to mind two pieces of the Mikrok "Hommage ' J. S. Bach" and "Hommage a R. Sch." (nos. 79 and 80). are some pieces which have an exact match in respect of piano tech the Mikrokosmos: no. 40 is the counterpart ofMikrokosmos no. 40; n no. 46; no. 46 of no. 55; no. 68 ofno. 68; no. 77 ofno. 72, etc.

But the most interesting and puzzling is the similarity between no

the Piano Method and no. 77 of the Mikrokosmos. Both pieces consist o

lines and their first lines are identical, except of the Dorian sixth of th

rokosmos. The second lines are similar so far as they keep the parallel m

of the two hands, but the Mikrokosmos version follows more closely t

tour of the melody of the first line, and carries the piece further with a

sweep - a third higher - at the same time. There is similarity betw

third lines of the two pieces: both reach the highest point of the comp

but this is only a seventh away from the tonic in the Piano Method, w

the Mikrokosmos it is a tenth away. In both pieces the direction of teenth-motive is reversed from here: until now it was upward goin now on it is turning downward. In the Piano Method the last two l only loosely connected to the first two and also to each other. The

motion of the two hands is abandoned; the right hand's rhythm consis

of sixteenth notes and the new rhythmic motive, the anapaest appears the fourth line. The later Mikrokosmos version shows more coherence be-

tween the first and second half of the piece: the parallel motion of the two

hands is retained and while Bart6k introduces a new rhythmic motive (ana13 There is another piece without a metronome marking which is more like an easy performing piece than an exercise: no. 59.



128 Vera Lampert

paest!) in the third line, he maintain

lines. There is also a closer relationsh

rokosmos: the fourth is a slightly changes are twofold: the two hands

dence also contains some modificat vious line. On the whole, no. 77 of

more organically built and more Method.

There are several layers of annotations in the copy of the Piano Method

preserved among Bart6k's papers. The composer's annotations in lead and blue or green pencil can be clearly distinguished from the notes made in red ink by Margit Varr6.14 Bart6k's annotations fall into three main groups. In the first group belong markings which seem to be the results of teaching. They mark the end

of the phrases (nos. 22, 36, 46, 117), or connect related smaller units into

larger phrases (nos. 40, 57); they call attention to the accented and unaccented notes, staccatos or portamentos with emphasis on the existing signs

or with additional signs (nos. 25-26, 36, 46); they enforce the original fingering with circles around the numbers or change the original fingering, usu-

ally for a simpler solution (nos. 94, 99, 105, 116). There are about twenty pieces with markings of this type. They might have originated during the time when Peter, Bart6k's younger son took piano lessons from his father around 1934. 15 Another type of annotations by Bart6k's hand, either with lead or green

pencil involves changes in the notes of the pieces themselves. The following

six pieces contain note-changes: no. 44 (last measure); no. 73 (measures 4-5); no. 82 (measure 15); no. 83 (last two measures); no. 95 (measure 7) and no. 101 (measures 1 and 5). [See Example 1] Since two of these pieces were republished in The First Term at the Pi-

ano without the above changes, or in the case on no. 95, with different 14 I identified Varr6's hand comparing the annotations in the Piano Method with her original letters to Bart6k now kept in the Budapest Bart6k Archives.

S5 In a personal letter Peter Bartok confirmed that some of the pieces of the Piano Method were also used during his piano lessons with his father.

Studia Musicologica .4cademniae Scientiarm Hungaricae 39. 1998


On the Origins of Bartak s Mikrokosmos 129 No.44 8

No.73

5

5

K

No.82 a!

a!

8f

No.83 No.95 18-19 7

No. 101 1-2

5-6

f inarcato rarCato

Ex. 1: Bart6k's corrections in the Bart6k-Reschofsky Piano Method

changes, one can assume that they were made later than the appearance of The First Term at the Piano. There can be only one reason for these changes,

namely, that Bart6k, at least for a while, was considering the republication of the Piano Method itself, in a revised, corrected form. The rest of his annotations also point in that direction. In the third group belong all the notes and remarks which refer to the ex-

ercises and the explanatory material of the Piano Method. Again, there are various types of them. Some are only stylistic corrections to the text or suggestions to transpose one paragraph or section to a different part of the book, but there are also critical remarks, deletions and notes indicating the need for

further expansion of the material. Most interesting among Bart6k's annotations concerning the exercises are those which later served as a basis for Mik-

rokosmos pieces. At no. 38a, which is a simple exercise for leaping fourths, Studia Musicologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 39. 1998


130 Vera Lampert

Bart6k noted: "a piece with this". Nagyvacsacr [Big Fair], no. 47 of

sketched on p. 21 of the Piano Meth

42, and as exercises for no. 41 and 4

exercises no. 12, 14 and 18 in Mikr and 27 of the Piano Method.

Finally, there are signs for several renumbering efforts in the Piano Method which, again, can be interpreted as evidence of an intended republi-

cation. The following pieces have, sometimes repeatedly corrected new numbering: 21, 22, 24, 25, 26, 29, 33, 36, 57 and 77. Some of the new numbers cannot be read unambiguously because of the many corrections. 4 is the

lowest readable number, the highest is 29. Another important source, the first sketches of the Mikrokosmos17 also shows ample support for the hypothesis that many pieces of the first three

books of the Mikrokosmos originate as an amendment or amplification for

the Piano Method. There are 16 pages in the Mikrokosmnos sketches with various references to the Piano Method.'" Most of them specify where the

new Mikrokosmos piece should fit in the Piano Method. On p. 31 of the sketches at no. 61 Bart6k noted: "before 44"; on p. 32 at nos. 11 and 12: "after no. 21"; on p. 51 at no. 44: "before 37"; at no. 23 "after 21, immediately before 22"; at no. 24: "after 26" and at no. 43: "after 40"; on p. 67 at no. 40: "for p. 22 of P.meth."; or on p. 70 at nos. 38 and 39 (in the sketches still as nos. 18 and 19): "for p. 21 ofP.meth., first no. 19 then no. 18". Now returning to the annotations of Margit Varr6, it becomes apparent that at the time her notes were added to the score, Bart6k was still considering a revised edition of the Piano Method. Most of the notes are requests and

suggestions for additional pieces with certain characteristics for the more gradual introduction of the different techniques of piano playing. In some cases Varr6 made critical remarks to certain pieces which did not stand the trial of her teaching experience. The notes are mainly found at the bottom of the pages of the copy, or occasionally between the staves or next to the pieces 16 All the annotation quoted below are in Hungarian. 17 I am grateful to Peter Bart6k for providing me with photocopies of these important documents, numbered

59 PS 1, in his possession.

18 Pp. 29-33, 50-55, 67-70 and 75.

Studia Musicologica .4cademiae Scientiaruin Hungaricae 3 9. /998


On the Origins of Bart6k ' Mikrokosmos 131 to which they refer. Before we proceed with the examinations of Varr6's ac-

tual remarks, a quote from her above-cited article summarizing her main ideas about teaching the very beginning of piano technique will be helpful. I usually divided the elementary study material into four successive steps, each of them pinpointing one of the difficulties a beginner has to solve if he is to make

steady progress. Every step, I emphasized, is meant to develop a necessary basic skill, and should be integrated with the preceding and following ones.

The first step presents melodies and exercises within one (but, of course, not always the same) five-finger position, both hands moving in the same direction and playing the same note values. The pupil meets different major and minor keys: 2/4, 3/4, and 4/4 meter; ties, rests, and note values indicating dotted notes.

The second step introduces brief canons and little pieces with free melodic imitation, whereby the student learns not only to play different note values simultaneously in both hands, but also to use mixed parallel and contrary motion

without even noticing it. Musically, this lays a good foundation for early training in contrapuntal style...

The emphasis, then, in the third step shifts from polyphonic to homophonic

music, centering on melodies with harmonic accompaniment. Consequently, the development of touch and dynamics comes to the foreground... The fourth step entails considerable extension of the playing range, and also an increase of dexterity. I mentioned that scales and broken chords, which hitherto may have been played within one and two octaves, should now cover up to three

or four octaves with separate hands to prepare for music containing scale passages, arpeggios, and skips. Bart6k was not interested. "There are plenty of studies around to fill the bill," he said, and so this idea was dropped. Consequently, all the exercises and pieces in Vols. I and II cover a rather limited space on the keyboard. Only from Vol. IV on does the playing range expand notably. A beginning is made, however, in Vol. III with Nos. 77 and 88.

As a complement to the four steps we discussed, I mentioned that it might be desirable to repeat certain studies later in a somewhat varied, more elaborate form for the sake of reinforcing a salient point. The concept of recapitulating melodic or rhythmic patterns with added new elements evidently made sense to

Bart6k. This can be seen by comparing, among others, Nos. 9 and 27 or 13 and 17 in Vol. I; No. 14 in Vol. I with No. 65 in Vol. II; No. 55 in Vol. II with No. 75 in Vol. III. 19

It is interesting to note, that in spite of Varr6's criticism, discussed in

detail below, the structure of the Bart6k-Reschofsky Piano Method follows 19 Bartdk's Mikrokosmos in Retrospect, pp. 3-4. In Hungarian translation: Zenei irdsok, pp. 97-98.

Studia Musicologica Acadenmiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 39. 1998


132 Vera Lampert

Varr6's ideas outlined above. Furt this correspondence could be traced

ginning piano pedagogy or if the played some role in the developme The first set ofVarr6's marginalia

refers to the very first steps of e

pieces with equal note-values in bo section brings only material for se

no. 18. There are only two illustra

plying with Varr6's ideas of the firs

son piece with hand position chang

on p. 15, ask for the expansion of

After this [no. 21 ] some more short pie a) in parallel motion (in sixth or tenth) b) in contrary motion

c) alternating between parallel and contr

All of them could be easier than no. 22 rhythm.

There are altogether 21 pieces at the beginning of the Mikrokosmos fashioned after the plan suggested by Varr6. The two five-finger exercises nos. 20-21 of the Piano Method are substituted with nos. 1-6 in order to present the five-finger position at different places on the keyboard and familiarize the student with a variety of key-segments (C major, A minor, D minor, G major). Nos. 7-10, while further exploring the keyboard with yet new positions of the hand, including black keys, introduce new rhythmical and met-

rical elements, as the dotted note, syncopation, and 3/4 meter. With nos.

11-12 parallel and contrary motion appear: these are the pieces Varr6 explicitly asked for in the above-cited note. When Bart6k sketched these pieces, he made a note on the margin (on p. 32 of the Mikrokosmos draft): "after 21", clearly revealing that these pieces were written as a direct response to Varr6's notes. After no. 12 some more unison pieces follow, but this time with hand-position changes. Nos. 16-17 combine the two pre-

viously learned technique: parallel or contrary motion and hand-position changes. Until this point the student had to play only consecutive seconds. In the following four unison melodies (nos. 18-21) the larger intervals of third, fourth and fifth are introduced within the five-finger position. Pieces with Studia Musicologica .4cademniac Scientiarum Hlungaricae 39. 1998


On the Origins of Bartd6k Mikrokosmos 133 both parallel and contrary motion, however, appear only in the second volume of the Mikrokosmos (nos. 38 and 54). Varr6's next remark in the Piano Method is in accord with the second

step in her recommendation for the elementary piano teaching: the introduction to the independence of the two hands through canons and free imitation. It is interesting to note, that in the Piano Method the unison pieces of 20-21 are followed - after no. 22 which in Varr6's opinion were too difficult at that

point - by two pieces with free imitation, exactly in the spirit of Varr6's method. She wanted to have more than two examples, however, since she noted after 25: "After this some more little canons or little pieces with imitation would be desirable." There are three instances in the first sketches of the Mikrokosmos where

Bart6k explicitly noted an addition "after 26": on p. 33, at no. 22; on p. 50, at no. 25 and on p. 51, at no. 24. No. 23 was also sketched on p. 51 of the drafts and originally this was intended to introduce the whole group of imi-

tative pieces, since Bart6k noted on the margin: "after no. 21, immediately before 22", that is, following the first group of pieces (with the same rhythm in both hands). But there are many more examples for the imitative pieces in the series. The rest of book I and the whole second book are entirely devoted to canons and short pieces with imitations.

Varr6's third remark (at no. 44) asks for more easy pieces for teaching the third step (melody with accompaniment) of her method: Before this, some melodies with accompaniment would be needed, namely a) accompaniment with broken chords b) accompaniment with figured chords c) melody alternating between upper and lower part.

Several notes in the Mikrokosmos sketches indicate which pieces Bart6k intended to provide at this point. On pp. 29-31 of the sketches he noted: "be-

fore 44", at nos. 41, 99 and 61. No. 41 features broken chords, no. 61 switches the melody from the right hand to the left halfway through the piece

and the accompaniment consists of figured chords. In the first sketch, no. 99

was quite different from its final appearance, being a much simpler piece: melody with accompaniment. The rest ofVarr6's annotations refer to single pieces, and either ask for

improvement in the piece or a substitution. In some cases the manuscript sketch of the Mikrokosmos exactly indicates the piece with which Bart6k reStudia Musicologica Academiae Scientiarumn Hungaricae 39. 1998


134 Vera Lampert

solved the problem. In other cases

guessed at. Below I quote Varr6's r identifiable.

At no. 46: "Every child feels the meter of this piece as 6/8; thus we are asking for another piece with real triplets!" - On p. 32 of the Mikrokosnmos

sketches Bart6k wrote next to the piece which became no. 55 in the series: "instead of 46".

At p. 25: "We ask for another piece besides no. 51 which helps the es-

thetic understanding of - and ." On p. 53 of the Mikrokosmos sketches, where no. 49 can be found, Bart6k made the remark: "before or after 51".

At no. 56: "This is somewhat monotonous, there is nothing the student

can grasp; we ask for another piece instead." At measures 9-12 again: "chil-

dren cannot understand these four measures!" On p. 52 of the Mikrokosmos sketches Bart6k indicated on the margin the replacement with the note "instead of 56" next to the sketch of no. 66.

At the end of no. 57: "We would very much like to have another little

piece in which ; and f.: are posed against each other." There are several pieces in the Mikrokosmos which alternate triplets and doublets, as nos. 75, 85 and 88, although without Bart6k's reference in the sketches to the Piano Method.

At the bottom of p. 32: "We ask for one or two little pieces before no. 73 (single part in one hand, double in the other (three-part not in the contra-

puntal sense!), one part can possibly be a single note.)" There are three remarks referring to this suggestion, all of them on p. 53 of the sketches where

Bart6k noted at no. 67: "after 67"; atno. 56: "after 71" andat 76: "after 72". From these three pieces no. 67 and 76 have three-part texture, in a somewhat similar way Varr6 described. No. 56 has four parts but since two of them are

single notes, it presents a technically easier task than the others. Consequently, Bart6k placed this and other similar four-part pieces (nos. 60, 64) before three-part pieces with one part placed against double notes (nos. 66,

67, 70). After no. 78: "It would be very good if we could get a new piece of this

kind. After this, we ask for 2 little four-part (choral-like) pieces in which both hands play two parts." No. 82 of the Mikrokosmos can be compared in Studia Musicologica Academiuae Scientiarumrn Hungaricae 39. 1998


On the Origins of Bartdk's Mikrokosmos 135

many ways to no. 78 in the Piano Method. The two four-part, cho pieces are nos. 89 and 93.

At no. 97: "We could keep this with the alteration of the 3rd line, i

please, but we would like to have another piece moving in ?. (The could move through several octaves but without thumb-crossings measures 9-12: "the child gets confused by the similarity of figura one hand and the lack of exact sequences on the other." Bart6k dec keep this piece for the Mikrokosmos (as no. 77) with considerable

tions.20 The first sketch of the improved piece appears on p. 54 of the rokosmos sketches with Bart6k's note: "instead of 97". As far as the other

piece, required by Varr6, moving in semiquavers, there is only one such piece within the first three books of the Mikrokosmos: no. 79.

At no. 102: "Instead of this we would like to get something else!" Bart6k crossed out this piece in the Piano Method with the note: "omit", but he did not indicate a replacement.

At no. 108: "We ask for one or two new pieces which feature scale or figuration with scales (with thumb crossings)!" If possible, they should be easier than 114." Two pieces, nos. 98 and 104 fit Varr6's description, both containing thumb crossings and scale fragments. At no. 110: "If possible, we would very much like to have a new piece; children do not take an interest in the theme of this one." There is no indication in the sketches for the replacement of this piece.

At no. 120: "If possible, we ask for a new 'march'-like piece instead of this. As a matter of fact, we use this piece for an arpeggio exercise. We would also very much like to have a little 'serenade'-like piece with arpeggios." This latter may be identified with Notturno, no. 97 of the Mikrokosmos but the march movement does not appear until the sixth book (March,

no. 147). The same book also contains a piece with arpeggios (no. 143, DividedArpeggios) but without the serenade-like character. If one cannot identify Bart6k's every single response to Varr6's criticism and recommendations, it is evident that he seriously considered each of

them and, as the above quoted sources abundantly demonstrate, he closely followed her advice in most cases. Margit Varr6 herself registered this fact 20 See the comparison of the two versions above, on p. [4?].



136 Vera Lampert

with pride: "When the Mikrokosmos

that Bart6k had virtually adopted my

subdivisions; and that quite a few had been accepted, too."21 In her recollections Varr6 did not Bart6k but referring to her second

at that time, she implied 1929 or t

undoubtedly thinking about the revi

it would be difficult to estimate exa

a new piano school rather than repu

the old one. The examination of th

ous layers of corrections could be be

pies used for this article - might y refined and detailed chronology.

Reschofsky never mentioned a r not know about it. In all likelihood

the new edition of the Piano Meth not undertake the project withou author. Therefore, Bart6k resolve Method, save one single thoroughl

replacements for its most successf

the explanatory notes, at the end he

At the same time, he radically reduc

them to the appendices. This way t

fundamentally different from the o

ercises and verbal explanations int Mikrokosmos each consecutive tas explanations are to be given by the

dary in helping to reach the main o In conclusion it can be stated that

Mikrokosmos, intended to serve th

his old Piano Method insomuch as he

the first part of his new school wit

21 Bart6k s Mikrokosmos in Retrospect, p. 4. In H

22 Piano Method no. 97 = Mikrokosmos no. 77. S 23 No. 40 of the Piano Method is replaced by no.

and no. 77 by no. 72

Studia Musicologica A4cademiae Scientiarimn Hungaricae 39. 1998


On the Origins of Bart6k's Mikrokosmos 137 old one. Working on these amendments, he followed the expert advice of Margit Varr6. Consequently, the first three books of the Mikrokosmos are fashioned after Varr6' s theoretically and practically well-founded pedagogi-

cal method. Bart6k could, therefore, announce in confidence in the Preface to the Mikrokosmos that "...the material in volumes 1-3 has been designed to be sufficient in itself for the first, or the first and second, year of study."

Studia Musicologica Academiae Scientiarurn Hungaricae 39, 1998


On the Origins of Bartók's Mikrokosmos

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