Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion – Belá Bartók
Instrumentation:
- 2 grand pianos
- Percussion 1: 3 timpani, side drum with snares (S.D.c.c.), side drum without snares (S.D.s.c.), triangle, tam-tam, suspended cymbal, pair of crash cymbals
- Percussion 2: Xylophone, bass drum, side drum with snares (S.D.c.c.), side drum without snares (S.D.s.c.), triangle, tam-tam, suspended cymbal, pair of crash cymbals
Note:
Bartók, the great Hungarian 20th century composer, wrote this piece in 1937 just before he left his home country for the United States. His Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion is an extremely demanding piece for all of the players involved. Bartók switched the traditional roles of both the pianos and percussion. He takes advantage of the pitched percussion instruments (timpani and xylophone) and gives them more of a melodic role. The pianos are represented as a very percussive instrument. He also introduced new innovative sounds for percussion. Bartók asks for the percussionists to strike different areas of the snare drums, cymbals as well as using different sticks varying in hardness and size, which you will see in the beginning of the second movement. Also, at the very end of the piece he specifically asks to play the cymbal with the blade of a pocketknife or a fingernail to produce a very thin sound. The staging of this work is also key to the performance. Notice how the pitched percussion instruments are placed closer to the pianos and the unpitched further away from them. In this piece, the percussion often complements or dramatizes what the pianos are playing but they still remain strongly independent
-John Stapleton