Béla Bartók

Bartók wrote only a handful of original marches in his career, and the few he did compose for piano, or for two pianos, were often arrangements, such as the 1903 Marche funebre, from his symphonic poem Kossuth. This one from Mikrokosmos has an austere, percussive manner, which prompted the composer to remark it might be heard as a march for a prehistoric group of people. Coming near the end of this instructive set of progressively challenging works -- 153 in all -- it hardly need be said that this is quite a difficult composition for either the student or professional pianist.

March opens with an insistent rhythmic figure in the bass, over which a rather primitive-sounding theme appears in three- and four-note phrases. The pacing is lively for the thematic elements but more deliberate -- or so it seems -- in the inexorable tread of the marching rhythm. That rhythmic insistence breaks down about midway through, after which bits of the theme are heard, as the music wanders, not, however, abandoning its austere character. Lasting about two minutes, this masterful creation will appeal to a wide audience.