These six dances comprise the final works in Mikrokosmos, Bartók's masterful set of 153 pieces of progressively challenging piano compositions, meant primarily as an instructive collection for students. But, of course, the composer fully intended professional pianists to take them up, as well. These Six Dances in Bulgarian Rhythm are probably the most technically demanding works in the collection. Interpretively, too, they challenge the pianist both in his or her skills in keyboard coloration and in capturing the Bulgarian rhythmic folk idiom.
As most are aware, Bartók was a devoted collector and arranger of folk music. In this set he first touched on Bulgarian rhythmic elements in Bulgarian Rhythm I (No. 113) and Bulgarian Rhythm II (No. 115), and would return to the subject again in his arrangement for two pianos of No. 113, which appears as No. 1 in Seven Pieces from Mikrokosmos, for two pianos.
The first of the six dances here certainly displays a folk flavor, but one many will hear as Spanish, notably in the lively main theme. Still, that characteristic is partial and largely heard in the colorful, rhythmic exoticism of the thematic material. This dance lasts just under two minutes, and its light, glittering manner will appeal to most listeners' tastes.
The second dance opens with a driving, colorful rhythm, again invoking the spirit of Spain. Here, however, an Eastern European ethnic character is more in evidence, even if there is less a sense of the dance here. The music is more toccata-like, too, though full of color and lively rhythm. This piece lasts about a minute.
No. 150 features less rhythmic drive: although the music often goes at breakneck speeds, with frantic rhythms accompanying, the tempo slows and accelerates alternately, thus imparting an elastic sense to the flow of the music, thereby yielding contrast and much color. This one-minute gem has somewhat less an ethnic character than most of the others here.
The next dance, as Bartók pointed out, divulges a Gershwinian influence and is certainly one of the most jazzy pieces the composer ever wrote. The lively rhythms and early-twentieth century American jazz idiom give this minute-and-a-half work an attractive character that most listeners will find to their liking.
The penultimate dance is quite the opposite of the last: though it is lively and light, it exhibits a sunny, playful manner in its driving, rhythmic character, its music remaining, however, firmly on European ground. Lasting about a minute, this dance, like all the others, will both challenge the student and please the listener.
At two minutes, No. 153, the final dance, is the longest of the six and possibly the finest. The music is pure Bartók, much of it reminiscent of his writing in the finale of the Third Piano Concerto. The theme is lively and bright, and the rhythm brimming with energy, both elements combining to yield a colorful but slightly more serious-minded manner than exhibited in the other dances. ~ All Music Guide
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