Be?la Barto?k's Sonata for two pianos and percussion [microform].

by Simons, Haley A.

This essay is intended as a comprehensive study of Béla Bartok's 1937 work. the Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion. The discussion of the work involves three areas of music research: historical, analytical, and aesthetic qualities. An historical profile of the composer includes biographical information, as well as discussion of the chronology of the diverse and eclectic cornpositionaI influences to which Bartok was exposed. The effects of the nurnerous compositional influences are discussed in tems of their impact upon Bartok's mature style in general, and the Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion in particular. The discussion of the aesthetic qualities of the work centers around its unique instrumentation, tracing the genesis of the work, from its earliest conception. to its even- tua1 final form. The instrumentationof the ensemble is explored in terms of ovenll sonority as well as the revolutionary new roles of, and the corresponding relationship between, the individual instruments. A detailed analysis of the work includes discussion of the work as a whote. as well as each individual movernent. with references to specific musical examples. Forma1 ~rga~tation is discussed in terms of predetermined architectural control blending West- ern models with the governing, organic proportions of the Golden Section. The use of a compositiond system is addressed, with particular emphasis on the proportions of Golden Section, the Fibonacci series, and the acoustic system. Throughout the essay. attention is drawn to the element of duality within the work. beghing with the impact of such diverse and seemingly irreconcilable influences. to the simultaneous incorporationof outwardly contradictory formal and stylistic elements. The essay comects and relates these diverse elements, and in so doing, reveals a distinct cyclic relationship within the work, as well as establishing it as a model of Bartok's highest aspiration: the perfect union of nature, art, and science.