Bartók's 'Mikrokosmos'

Author(s): John Ogdon

Source: Tempo, New Series, No. 65, Bartók and the Piano (Summer, 1963), pp. 2-4
Published by: Cambridge University Press
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/944149 .
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BARTOK'S MIKROKOSMOS
byjohnOgdon
Bart6k's Mikrokosmos holds a place unique in pianoforteliterature. Its
achievement lies far beyond that of the conventional course of progressive
studies. From the earliestexercises, consistentuse is made of the ecclesiastical
modes, which oftensupplantthe diatonic scale, and a real extensionof tonal
awarenessis thus offeredfromthe most elementarystages; the studentis also
familiarisedwith unusual time-signatures and rhythmicstructures,while to the
studentof compositionvaluable insightinto technicalproceduresis offeredin a
particularlyclear form. And a use of the rhythmsand melodies of folk music
is of greatvalue as documenting(accessibly) the constituentsof EasternEuropean
peasant song and dance.
Thus, theworkis more complex thanat firstappears,and BenjaminSuchoff's
Guideto theMikrokosmos Bartdk'is to be welcomed. It providesa general
ofBde'la
outline of Bart6k's life and work, followed by a commentaryon each study
fromMikrokosmos.
Statingthat Bart6k wished to absorb the idiom of peasant music "to the
extent that its use becomes subconscious, a musical mother-tongue", Mr.
Suchoffpoints out that "Bart6k considered his folk music research of more
significance thanhis composition", a remarkabletestimonyto Bart6k'shumility,
which should not blind us to the factthat,as with Mussorgsky,so with Bart6k,
it is the impulse of a creatorand not the detachmentof a scholar which welds
the raw materialof folkart into a more highlyorganisedart-form.A comparison
with James Joyce is of interest: Bart6k had, in common with Joyce, great
linguisticfacility;Joyce,workingat the same time as Bart6k,also drew inspir-
ation fromthe lives and art of ordinarypeople, but built farmore as conscious
artefactupon thisbasis, so that with Joyceone feels that the art of the people
is a meansto an end, whereasto Bart6kits representation is an end in itself.
Aftera preface in which rathersurprisingreferenceis made to the Etudes
of Chopin and Debussy being "sparsely edited by their creators" (let us hope
Debussy is never subjected to the editorial 'improvements' inflictedupon
Chopin), Mr. Suchoff'sfirstchaptergivesan accountofBart6k'scareerasa painist.
He played "Beethoven and Liszt for the most part", and also, according to
Serge Morcux, showed a predilectionfor Schumann'sF sharpminor Sonata, in
the obsessive rhythmsof which may be discernedone embryoof the rhythmic
compulsionunderlyingthe firstmovementof his Piano Concerto No. 2. This
is followed by a descriptionof his aims as a composer. To say, as Mr. Suchoff
does, thatBart6kwished,as a primaryaim, to "avoid the 'excesses' of romant-
icism", is a little redolent of hindsight. The Rhapsody,Op. i, and the Four
Piano Pieces, Op. 3, are imbued with a romanticspiritwhich he later refined
ratherthandiscarded; it is not absentfromBluebeard'sCastle,and the conception
of a NightMusicwithout dramatispersonae is romanticin its very elevationof
the impersonal. It is a humanear which listensto the insects.
In the second and thirdchaptersMr. SuchoffsurveysMikrokosmos generally,
and discussesits place in musical educationtoday,and Bart6k'sideas concerning
I Published by the Music Services Corporation of America, Silver Spring, Maryland
! 1963 by JohnOgdon

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 BARTOK'S MIKROKOSMOS 3

piano playing. These include an unusuallyrefineddifferentiation of touch-forms,

among them what is claimed as a new meaning for tenuto: "to such notes a
certain color shadingmust be added by pressing the key instead of striking
it". We mayhoweverfeel thatthisis alreadyimplicitin the fingeractionneeded
for tenuto,and in a list of dynamicindicationsculled from "Bart6k's specific
instructionsas assembledfromhis other pedagogicalworks and editionsfor the
piano", we must feel surprisedthat sf (sforzato)is listed as being always of
greateremphasisthanA (marcatissimo).
The main part of the book consistsof a formidablearrayof the musical and
technicalattributesof each study; Bart6k's own notes on Mikrokosmos, most of
whichare publishedforthefirsttime; Mr. Suchoff'ssuggestionsforperformance;
and referencesto available recordings. The tabular lay-out achieves clarityat
the expense of flexibility-perhapsshort analyticalessays would have worked
better. The sub-headingsof the section dealingwith technicalproblemsbecome
rathervague in contentfromtime to time; forinstance,the constantinvocation
of 'counterpoint'as a descriptivetag needs much more qualificationin some of
the later exercises (e.g. Nos. 144, 150, and 153), not to mentionits use in
15 of 'Chords
referenceto the essentiallyharmonicproblems Togetherand Opposed'
(No. 122). It is disconcerting,too, that the presence invertiblecounterpoint
of
in No. 123 \'Staccatoand Legato') is not noted, and that the analysisof the
opening of No. 86 ('Two Major Pentachords') should be inaccurate.
Bart6k's commentsraise some very interestingpoints. He definesin one
way the tonalityof studieswhichare oftenambiguousand accessibleto alternative
tonal analysis. For example, No. 12 ('Reflection-defined as "bitonal") sounds
Dorian in both hands; No. i ('Village Song'-defined as "a sort of G major
with altered fourth") sounds diatonicallyin D major; No. 16 (definedas "key
of C") soundsmore modal thanNo. I g; while No. 81 ('Wandering'-described
as "no fixedkey. Abstractmusic") does in factachieve, as Mr. Suchofftrulysays,
"a kind of Bart6kianneutraltonality". One of the most remarkableexamples
of bitonality,althoughnot cited, is in "Merry Andrew" (No. bars9 to I7.
139),
Bart6k does not hesitate to state sources of inspirationand comparison.
'
Besides the lovely 'Hommage J.S.B.' and 'Hommage R. Sch'., these include
Gershwin (No. I s1), Schoenberg (No. 102), Chopin and Scriabin (No. 97),
and Hindemith (No. 12g). PerhapsMr. Suchoffmighthave followed Bart6k's
example and provided furtherinterestingpoints of reference-for example,
the comparisonswithother 2oth-century composersevoked by'Unison' (No. 137)
the echoes and presagesof Bart6k's own major works which occur seriatimbut
are still worthdocumenting,the odd echo of Wagner in No. 22 ('Imitationand
Counterpoint') and the comparisonsand contrastswith Debussy to be foundin
No. 83 ('Melody withInterruptions'--cf'La serenadeinterrompue')and No. I29
('AlternatingThirds'--cf 'Les tierces alternbes'). In particular the melodic
shape of No. I 24 ('Staccato') offersan interestingcomparisonwith the finaleof
Beethoven's D Major Sonata, Op. Io. No. 3, while its endingmakesan aurally
perceptiblenexus with the second variationin Webern's Op. 27 (just as 'Minor
Seconds, Major Sevenths'aurally'connects' with the firstvariation). One must
also feel that Mr. Suchoff by-passes valuable opportunitiesfor comparing
Bart6k's use of variation-form (e.g. in No. I 12) with the use of variation-form
in earlier times.
Pianistically,a remarkablecharacteristicof the earlierpieces is the extent
to which they are based on one hand position. This is the 'closed' position

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4 TEMPO

covering,say,C to G withthe fivefingers,and Bart6kchangesit, ifat all, slowly,

and then only for the hand to take up another 'closed' position. He obviously
prefersthis approach to the more conventionaluse of scales and arpeggi,with
more rapidlychangingpositionsof the'hand. Bart6kdoes say, in his Preface,
that "simple exercisesfor the fivefingers,for the thumbunder, simple broken
triads,etc. are not included", which perhapscontradictshis aim thatthe work
"should embrace,as faras possible,all problemsmet withduringthefirststeps".
It is in fact amazing how farone must go in Mikrokosmos before one findsthe
of
flexibility finger-movement which Bach employs as a matter of course in the
two famousminuetsin G fromthe Notebook for Anna MagdalenaBach.
The rationaluse of the fifth so
finger, neglected in conventional piano methods
and scales and arpeggi, is greatlyto be admired in Mikrokosmos, particularlyin
Book I and, for instance,in the 'Chromatic Study' (No. 54). An invaluable
musical innovationis the settingof pieces eitherfor voice and piano or fortwo
pianos, thusdevelopingthe difficult art of ensemble playingfroma veryearly
stage.
PerhapsMr. Suchoffcould at timeshave enteredmore thoroughlyinto the
problems of piano technique; in 'Harmonics' (No. 102) for instance, silent
key-depressionimplies findingthe point of resistance(approximatelyhalf-way
down each key when it is pressed) which ought to be taken into account for
safe avoidance of any unintentionalsound. Also, in 'Chord Study' (No. 69),
technical discussion might have included the question of armweightguiding
the hand across the different chords, to avoid too lumpya sequence.
Mikrokosmos is oftenused as a compositiontext-book. Mr. Suchoffinforms
us that, significantly,the objective of "teaching students the elements of
compositionby means of contemporaryprocedures" is not directlyattributable
to Bart6k. Indeed, althoughthereis much to interestthe composer here, it is
hardlya compositiontext-bookin the sense of Schoenberg'sModels for Beginners
in Composition.It lacks - and, as it is a piano work, there is no reason why it
should possess- the thoroughnessof such a treatise. Mikrokosmos has had, too,
surprisingly little direct influenceon later composers. It is essentiallya piano
work which, as Bart6k suggests,should be studied in conjunctionwith other
progressivepiano studies of differentleanings. A good teacher will help by
skilfulselection where, for example, the progressionof difficulty is not always
smooth, and Mr. Suchoffis to be commended on providingsuch a teacher,
and his pupil, with a clear and attractively-produced guide.

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The firstand second draftsof one of the pieces from Mikrokosmos, showing Bart6k's change of mind
about its key, one or two other musical details, its title, and its order in the series, where it finally
became No. EI, 'Ringais'(Waves). At the top left hand corner of the second drafta note a note in
Hungarian (hardlydiscernibleon the photograph) says "a minor thirdhigher", and it is in this key,
A flat, that the piece is published.

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