Romanian Folk Dances
Béla Bartók | Iván Fischer – Budapest Festival Orchestra

0:00 Bot tánc | Jocul cu bâtă (Stick Dance)
1:12 Brâul (Sash Dance)
1:47 Topogó | Pe loc (In One Spot)
2:48 Bucsumí tánc | Buciumeana (Dance from Bucsum; also Horn Dance)
4:31 Román polka | Poarga Românească (Romanian Polka)
5:02 Aprózó | Mărunțel (Fast Dance)
5:17 Aprózó | Mărunțel (Fast Dance)

Originally written for piano in 1915, Bartók arranged his Romanian Folk Dances for a small orchestra in 1917. They are based on seven dances, played on fiddle or shepherd’s flute, from Transylvania, which, at the time, was part of the Austro-Hungarian empire. Bartók named the pieces Magyarországi román népi táncok (Romanian folksongs from Hungary), but he changed it to the present title after Transylvania became part of Romania.

According to Bartók, the melody of the Stick Dance came from came from Mezőszabad, in the Maros-Torda (now Mureș County) section of Transylvania, where two gypsy violinists played it. The second movement is a typical dance, in which a waistband or sash was used, thus its name. This dance came from Igris, in the Banat region. The third dance, also from Igris, is darker, with apparent Middle Eastern influences. The fourth dance comes from Buscum, as stated in the title. The fifth dance is similar in form to a polka, and comes from the Romanian-Hungarian border. The last two dances are typically performed without much of a pause.

Iván Fischer, leads the orchestra of which he is founder and music director: the Budapest Festival Orchestra, which “is now reckoned to be among the world’s finest symphony orchestras.” (Ivan Hewett, The Telegraph)

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