Béla Bartók's Mikrokosmos () Sz. 107, BB 105 consists of 153 progressive piano pieces in six volumes, written between 1926 and 1939 and published in 1940. The individual pieces progress from very easy and simple beginner études to very difficult advanced technical displays, and are used in modern piano lessons and education. In total, according to Bartók, the work "appears as a synthesis of all the musical and technical problems which were treated and in some cases only partially solved in the previous piano works." Volumes one and two are dedicated to his son Péter, while volumes five and six are intended as professionally performable concert pieces.
Bartók also indicated that these pieces could also be played in different arrangements. In 1940, shortly before they emigrated to the United States, he arranged seven of the pieces for two pianos, to provide additional repertoire for himself and his wife Ditta Pásztory-Bartók to play. Tibor Serly transcribed six of the pieces for piano and string orchestra, arrangements which were first performed on the composer's 61st birthday in 1942. In 1969 Huguette Dreyfus recorded selected pieces from Books 3 to 6 on the harpsichord.
The pieces are notable for their display of folk music influence, their unusual use of tonality, and their use of additive rhythms. Bartók travelled extensively during the period 1906–1936 to rural Hungary, Romania, Algeria and Turkey, transcribing folk songs and dances; that influence is especially apparent in the Six Dances in Bulgarian Rhythm at the end of Mikrokosmos, as well as in his (separate) set of Romanian Folk Dances (1915).
Title The title Mikrokosmos comes from the Greek mikros kosmos, meaning "little world", to reflect Bartók's aim that the pieces "deal not only with the rhythmic, but also with melodic, harmonic and pianistic problems."
The works were first published with the subtitle "Progressive Pieces for Piano" to emphasise the collection's didactic structure. Ernst Roth, as representative of the publisher Boosey & Hawkes, initially suggested "Progressive Piano Pieces in Modern Idiom", but this was rejected by Bartok on the grounds that "in 20, or let us say in 40 years this work will cease to be 'modern.' And what does it mean 'modern'? This word has no definite sense, can be misinterpreted, misunderstood!"
Volumes The pieces progress gradually in difficulty through the entire collection, from number 1 at the beginning of volume I to number 153 at the end of volume VI.
Volumes I and II: Pieces 1–36 and 37–66, beginner level Volumes III and IV: Pieces 67–96 and 97–121, moderate to advanced level Volumes V and VI: Pieces 122–139 and 140–153, professional level
The list of pieces is as follows:
{| width=100% |- valign ="top" |width=33%| Volume I Six Unison Melodies (I) (a) Six Unison Melodies (II) (b) Six Unison Melodies (II) Six Unison Melodies (III) Six Unison Melodies (IV) Six Unison Melodies (V) Six Unison Melodies (VI) Dotted Notes Repetition (1) Syncopation (I) With Alternate Hands Parallel Motion Reflection Change of Position Question and Answer Village Song Parallel Motion with Change of Position Contrary Motion Four Unison Melodies (I) Four Unison Melodies (II) Four Unison Melodies (III) Four Unison Melodies (IV) Imitation and Counterpoint Imitation and Inversion (I) Pastorale Imitation and Inversion (II) Repetition (II) Syncopation (II) Canon at the Octave Imitation Reflected Canon at the Lower Fifth Dance in Canon Form In Dorian Mode Slow Dance In Phrygian Mode Chorale Free Canon
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Volume II In Lydian Mode Staccato and Legato (I) Staccato and Legato (Canon) In Yugoslav Style Melody with Accompaniment Accompaniment in Broken Triads (a) In Hungarian Style (for two pianos) (b) In Hungarian Style Contrary Motion (2) (for two pianos) Meditation Increasing-Diminishing County Fair In Mixolydian Mode Crescendo-Diminuendo Minuetto Waves Unison Divided In Transylvanian Style Chromatics Triplets in Lydian Mode (for two pianos) Melody in Tenths Accents In Oriental Style Major and Minor Canon with Sustained Notes Pentatonic Melody Minor Sixths in Parallel Motion Buzzing (a) Line against Point (b) Line against Point Dialogue (with voice) Melody Divided
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Volume III Thirds against a Single Voice Hungarian Dance (for two pianos) Study in Chords Melody against Double Notes Thirds Dragons' Dance Sixths and Triads (a) Hungarian Matchmaking Song (b) Hungarian Matchmaking Song (with voice) Triplets In Three Parts Little Study Five-Tone Scale Hommage à Johann Sebastian Bach Hommage à Robert Schumann Wandering Scherzo Melody with Interruptions Merriment Broken Chords Two Major Pentachords Variations Duet for Pipes In Four Parts (I) In Russian Style Chromatic Invention (I) Chromatic Invention (II) In Four Parts (II) Once Upon a Time... (a) Fox Song (b) Fox Song (with voice) Jolts
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Volume IV Notturno Thumbs Under Hands Crossing In Folk Song Style Diminished Fifth Harmonics Minor and Major (a) Wandering through the Keys (b) Wandering through the Keys Game (with Two Five-Tone Scales) Children's Song Melody in the Mist Wrestling From the Island of Bali And the Sounds Clash and Clang... Intermezzo Variations on a Folk Tune Bulgarian Rhythm (I) Theme and Inversion Bulgarian Rhythm (II) Song Bourrée Triplets in Time Dance in Time Triads Two-Part Study
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Volume V Chords Together and in Opposition (a) Staccato and Legato (II) (b) Staccato and Legato (II) Staccato Boating Change of Time New Hungarian Folk Song (with voice) Stamping Dance Alternating Thirds Village Joke Fourths Major Seconds Broken and Together Syncopation (III) (a) Studies in Double Notes (b) Studies in Double Notes (c) Studies in Double Notes Perpetuum mobile Whole-Tone Scales Unison Bagpipe Music Merry Andrew
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Volume VI Free Variations Subject and Reflection From the Diary of a Fly Divided Arpeggios Minor Seconds, Major Sevenths (a) Chromatic Invention (III) (b) Chromatic Invention (III) Ostinato March Six Dances in Bulgarian Rhythm (I) Six Dances in Bulgarian Rhythm (II) Six Dances in Bulgarian Rhythm (III) Six Dances in Bulgarian Rhythm (IV) Six Dances in Bulgarian Rhythm (V) Six Dances in Bulgarian Rhythm (VI)
Music The opening (mm. 1–76) of "Boating" (V, 125) is typical of the modernist compositional techniques used in the later volumes, featuring the bimodal use of the pentatonic collection on E in the right hand and either G mixolydian or dorian collections in the left:Stein, Deborah (2005). "Introduction to Musical Ambiguity" in Engaging Music: Essays in Music Analysis, pp. 82–83. New York: Oxford University Press. .
Volume VI contains the "Six Dances In Bulgarian Rhythm", dedicated to the English pianist Harriet Cohen. Bulgarian folk music is characterized by additive rhythm, that is, rhythm where the beats in each bar are of unequal length. For example, the first dance (148) is grouped into (nine quavers in each bar), and the final dance (153) is grouped into (eight in each bar).
Some pieces utilize extended technique, such as stomping or tapping in piece 9, holding down keys silently in piece 102, or singing in pieces 14, 65, and 127.
Pianists who have recorded all six volumes include György Sándor, Edith Farnadi, Homero Francesch, Zoltán Kocsis, Dezső Ránki, Jenő Jandó, Claude Helffer, and . Bartók himself was the first to publicly perform pieces from Mikrokosmos, on February 9, 1937, in London.Suchoff, Benjamin. Béla Bartók: A Celebration, p. 83 (Scarecrow Press, 2004).
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