This composition has eight
movements: The first movement,
Molto moderato, the original melody is repeated three times without not much variation and a coda at the end. The mode of this melody comes from the
Dorian mode scale on C, but the accompaniment plays unrelated
triad chords, all of them derived from melody notes. In the second movement,
Molto capriccioso, the main melody is repeated also three times, but here, even though it shares its Dorian mode on C, there are fragments written in
Mixolydian mode, its rhythm is much more
syncopated, there are much more sudden tempo changes and it is much more dissonant than the first. The third movement,
Lento rubato, is
polytonal. The fourth,
Allegretto scherzando, is a very quick
scherzo-like movement. The fifth movement,
Allegro molto, uses the
pentatonic scale and also
counterpoint and polytonal harmonies all along the movement. The sixth movement,
Allegro moderato, molto capriccioso, is a
bitonal movement; one hand plays only in the black keys of the piano, making a melody on a pentatonic scale, while the other hand uses all of the white keys, which create dissonances. The seventh movement,
Sostenuto, rubato, is dedicated to the memory of French composer
Claude Debussy, for Bartók's music was very influenced by Debussy's style when Bartók was a young composer. It was published separately from this work in a memorial supplement of
La revue musicale, published in December 1920 and dedicated to late Debussy, even though this movement contains no references to any of Debussy's works nor to his composition style. The eighth movement,
Allegro, is in a variation form, and its melody is repeated over and over, like in the first movement. The melody is somehow similar to that of the second movement's. == Notable recordings ==