Italian composer Bruno Maderna was one of the many composers who joined Darmstadt’s Summer Schools in the Castle of Kranichstein, where his music was programmed for public performances. Two of Maderna’s piano works for four hands are of major interest in this context: Concerto per due pianoforte e strumenti, and Fantasia per due pianoforte (B. A. C. H. Variationen für zwei klaviere). Although the Concerto was performed first, there are indications that the Fantasia was composed before the Concerto. Nonetheless, both are derived from the same model: Bartók’s Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion. The Concerto features percussive idioms, suggesting a relationship to Bartók’s work, which was known in Italy during this time. The Fantasia exhibits an ostinato figure derived from the B-A-C-H. motif, which is reminiscent of Bartók’s use of ostinato.

Works: Bruno Maderna: Concerto per due pianoforte e strumenti (15-18), Fantasia per due pianoforte (B. A. C. H. Variationen für zwei Klavier) (15-20).

Sources: Bartók: Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion, Sz. 110 (18); Johann Sebastian Bach: Vor deinen Thron tret’ ich hiermit, BWV 668 (20).

Index Classifications: 1900s

Contributed by: Nicolette van den Bogerd