Istvan Bogar

Suite

István Bogár's series of movements intended for youngsters is colourfully instrumented, evocative music, rich in melodic invention, in character it is most closely akin to Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker ballet music. In the opening movement (Little march), which is in trio form, little boys wearing paper shakos on their heads and carrying wooden swords play at soldiers. The following movement, Humming, is the only movement in the suite that is calm and in odd-numbered rhythm in it the children gather flowers in their little baskets, and meanwhile hum pleasant tunes. The third movement (Funny game) is an exciting little three-part form including variations. It is a funny game, withits tempo sometimes speeding up, sometimes slowing down, but by the end really going wild. The title of the finale is Game of tag. The tiny formal sections and interludes in this lively, cheerful music are linked together by a recurring rondo theme, and the chase ends with a brief coda.