Dance Suite

Bartók’s runaway success of the mid-1920s, being performed in sixty cities in 1925-26 alone. Although the various movements have different national folk types (and Bartók did originally intend an extra, Slovak movement, as well), his recurring interlude theme provides an easy continuity that listeners rarely find in his other works of this period. Unlike his many folksong settings, the Dance Suite is sufficiently long and structured to be a substantial feature on a concert program. Its potential as a ballet score was also early realized.

Note by Malcolm Gillies