Bartok: Romanian Folk Dances, Sz. 56

Romanian Folk Dances is a collection of six short piano pieces composed by Béla Bartók in 1915 which he later arranged for small ensemble in 1917. The suite draws on seven traditional Romanian melodies from Transylvania, originally performed on the fiddle or shepherd’s flute. Its initial title was Romanian Folk Dances from Hungary (Magyarországi román népi táncok), but Bartók retitiled it after Transylvania became part of Romania in 1920. Today, it is available in a 1971 edition that includes key signatures, although Bartók himself rarely utilized them.