Dániel Dobos

Hungary

22 November 1994

Drumul Dracului

"Being a composer engaged on folk music the question arose in my mind: How to adapt the folk musicans’  virtuosity and spontaneity to piano without becoming an epigone of the great composers of the past century? Thus, I have chosen the folk hammered dulcimer: the cimbalom. My work applies it as a source: obtains some technical elements of cimbalom playing, while endavours to take advantage of the scale of opportunities ensured by the keyboard and the wider chromatic range. Some Bartók allusions appear in it, paying tribute to the composer. The title „Drumul Dracului” itself originates in folk music: this simple, constantly accelerating melody is one of the greatest hits of authentic dance houses. But my composition differs widely from it both in rythm and melodies and is related to Moldavian dance music rather by its allusions and connotations of atmosphere and emotions.”