Im Freien (Out of Doors), Sz. 81

Hungarian composer, pianist and ethnomusicologist Béla Bartók (1881-1945) wrote this collection of “five fairly difficult piano pieces” in 1926, his ‘piano year.’ Although often referred to as a suite, IM FREIEN (OUT OF DOORS) appears to have not been thought of as a suite by Bartók himself. The work is a rarity also in that Bartók’s works did not commonly use programmatic titles: 1. With Drums and Pipes, 2. Barcarolla, 3. Musettes, 4. Musiques Nocturnes, 5. The Chase.