Trill in Mikrokosmos 6 no 151

[Dan]

L.S.

My name is Dan, amateur pianist from Rotterdam, this is the first time I ask a question here.

Can someone please tell me in detail (spell them please) how to execute the trills in Bartok's Mikrokosmos 6 no 151 measure 42, 51, and 52 ? I guess the publisher (or Bartok ?) forgot to mention that in the notes :-). Even Benjamin Suchoff in his book "Guide to Bartok's Mikrokosmos" avoids explaining those trills.

Thank you in advance,

Dan

[Daniel_piano]

Almost OT

I've always thought that Mikrokosmos sucks a lot
When my teacher saw that by practicing and playing the Mikrokosmos exercises I got sick, got fever and lost my equilibrium say me to forget about Mikrokosmos (he doesn't want to kill me with these pieces)  
Today I heard a classmate at school playing the volume 6 Mikrokosmos pieces and ... they're cool, rythmically fantastic and with a very pleasant dissonant texture resolved in consonant chords

I asked my classmate to play some pieces from the first two volumes and I was getting sick .... they sucks
Yet volume is wonderfully extravangant and etnic to me

So, why no one told me that the last volumes were very good and that the first sucks
By hearing only the first two volumes pieces I thought Bartok's Mikrokosmos was a bunch of nonsense sickening without gravity random sounds even my cat would be able to produce by walking on the keyboard
Now I must say, wherever you are forgive me Bartok your Mikrokosmos is really a geniune and genial work rooted on rythm importance, though the first volumes suck ... a lot imho

Mikrokosmos rocks !! Burn the first two volumes !!  

There's another piano composer who devote many of his piano works to rythm importance almost as much as Bartok and is Grieg his Slatter expecially the Springdans op 72 no. 12 have a lot in common with Bartok Mikrokosmos for what concerns rythm

Daniel

[Dan]

Hello Daniel,

I share your enthousiasm for Mikrokosmos 6 but I have the same feeling for volumes 1 to 5. Every piece in Mikrokosmos, no matter how short amazes me for it's originality.  The Mikrokosmos have a pedagogical purpose and therefore volume 1 begins with the most "simple" material. In volume 1 Bartok manages to create beautiful simple melodies of only 5 tones, I doubt if any other composer who bothered to compose for the beginner has ever managed to manipulate 5 tones so artfully. Of course it is a matter of taste :-)

Cheers,
Dan

[xvimbi]

 The Mikrokosmos have a pedagogical purpose and therefore volume 1 begins with the most "simple" material. In volume 1 Bartok manages to create beautiful simple melodies of only 5 tones, I doubt if any other composer who bothered to compose for the beginner has ever managed to manipulate 5 tones so artfully. Of course it is a matter of taste :-)

I completely agree. I believe the problem with the beginning pieces is that most students just play them with a metronome, then tick them off. However, if played thoughtfully with phrasing and changes in dynamics, even the very first pieces will reveal a surprising amount of musicality. This is where the challenge lies and with that the reward. Immensely useful!