Hi. Today I'd like to direct your attention to perhaps my very favourite piece of music: Concerto for Orchestra by Bela Bartok. A concerto, you may or may not know, is a large-scale piece that features one instrument with, and in opposition to, the rest of the orchestra. This one, as you can tell from the title, doesn't focus on one particular instrument, but rather on many of them. It is very important to understand the characteristics of the different instruments for a better appreciation of music, by the way: listening to this piece can help in that regard a great deal. The first movement is in "first-movement form", more often known as "sonata form". The basic concept of this form is that there are two theme groups (or melodies with variation), played one at a time, and then mixed together (usually in several different keys) in the development section, and then reprised in the recapitulation. This is a very simplified description, but that's the essence of the form. (On another occasion, I will be writing about how I believe this form was an influence on the blues. But that's for another day.) The second movement features groups of wind instruments in contrapuntal melodies (built from different intervals) with amazing rhythmic variety. The third movement is astonishing in both its originality and imagery - incredibly, it seems to contain scenes of aerial warfare. The fourth movement is known for its humour and use of parody. The fifth is a study in energy and motion through the use of music - physicists should study it (and maybe they do).
One of the characteristics of Bartok's work was his profound belief in the importance of folk melody. (He was an ethnomusicologist before the word existed.) He felt that the center of music was its use in day-to-day life. In this piece, one can hear the influence of the songs of the people that he encountered in his travels as a young man. The piece as a whole is a tribute to their lives and music, as well as one of the greatest orchestral masterpieces.