Romanian Folk Dances

Structure#

This set of dances consists of six movements and, according to the composer, it should take four minutes and three seconds to perform, but most professional pianists take up to five minutes. The list of the movements is as follows (with the original Hungarian title listed first, the most commonly known Romanian title second, and the English translation in parentheses):

Arrangements#

Aside from the version Bartók wrote for a small orchestral ensemble, some of Bartók’s friends wrote adaptations or transcriptions of this piece for several different ensembles. The following are the best-known: * Arthur Willner’s version for string orchestra. It is a mere transcription with no modification of the original music. * Zoltán Székely’s version for violin and piano. This is not just a transcription, but also an arrangement and adaptation of the piece for these two instruments. Some of the modifications Székely made included transposing some of the movements (the second movement was transposed from D minor to F minor, the third from B minor to D minor and the fourth from A major to C major), repeating some sections, adding bars, and using several techniques for the violin such as artificial harmonics, double stops, and Sautillé.

Notable recordings#

Notable recordings of this composition include the following: Notable recordings of the arrangement by Zoltán Székely include the following:

See also#

• Two Romanian Folk Dances
• Culture of Romania
• Béla Bartók
• List of compositions by Béla Bartók
• Transylvania