Syllabus · Schedule & Assignments · Online Resources · Master Glossary

Masterpieces of Western Music

Humanities W1123 · Prof. Michael Thaddeus

Béla Bartók (1881-1945)




From the Diary of a Fly from Book VI of Mikrokosmos (1'27)
played by Jenő Jandó



Allegro Barbaro (2'31)
played by Zoltán Kocsis


Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion
played by Murray Perahia & Georg Solti (pianos), David Corkhill & Evelyn Glennie (percussion)


I: Assai lento ‐ Very slow (12'50)


II: Lento, ma non troppo ‐ Not too slow (6'27)


III: Allegro non troppo ‐ Not too fast (6'37)

Clips from Movement I:

Theme A in exposition Theme A in recapitulation
Theme B in exposition Theme B in recapitulation
Theme C in exposition Theme C in recapitulation (fugato)


Concerto for Orchestra
with the Chicago Symphony conducted by Fritz Reiner


I: Introduzione ‐ Introduction (9'55)


II: Giuoco delle coppie ‐ Game of pairs (5'58)


III: Elegia ‐ Elegy (7'54)


IV: Intermezzo interrotto ‐ Interrupted intermezzo (4'13)


V: Finale ‐ Finale (8'58)


Concerto for Orchestra
with the Chicago Symphony conducted by Seiji Ozawa


I: Introduzione ‐ Introduction (9'26)


II: Giuoco delle coppie ‐ Game of pairs (6'38)


III: Elegia ‐ Elegy (7'52)


IV: Intermezzo interrotto ‐ Interrupted intermezzo (4'25)


V: Finale ‐ Finale (9'20)

Clip from Shostakovich's Symphony No. 7 "Leningrad"
played by the London Philharmonic conducted by Bernard Haitink