Bartók's Octatonic Strategies: A Motivic Approach

This study offers an alternative to the diatonic interaction model to explain Bartók's interest in the octatonic collection. The special ability of the octatonic collection to be partitioned into alternative sets of transpositionally related subsets is revealed through an abstract study. The exploitation of this potential through the interaction of the subsets is demonstrated in two compositions from the Mikrokosmos and in the first movement of the Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion.