Scoring
perc:3timp/xyl/2SD(with and without snares)/susp.cym/cyms/BD/tgl/tam-t
Abbreviations (PDF)
Publisher
Boosey & Hawkes
Territory
This work is available from Boosey & Hawkes
for the world.
Availability
World Premiere
1/16/1938
Basel
Ditta Pásztory, Béla Bartók, piano
Repertoire Note
Bartók was personally very attached to this work. He, and his wife, took part in its Swiss première in 1938, and also gave its earliest performances in several European countries and the United States. It is now a mainstay of the percussion and two-piano literature. Although intended for two very nifty percussionists, some early performances seem to have required a battery of approaching half a dozen players! Bartók included two-piano works by Mozart, Debussy and Stravinsky, as well as the two-piano arrangement of his Suite op.4b, to accompany this Sonata on his programs.
Note by Malcolm Gillies