Toccata, Op.11

Bartok’s Allegro barbaro and Prokofiev’s Toccata, written within a few months of each other in 1911 and 1912 respectively, represent the definitive liberation of the percussive instinct of the piano. While there are numerous precedents - from Balakirev’s Islamey to Chabrier’s Bourrée fantasque and Ravel’s Scarbo - there is nothing as explosive and as consistently pugnacious as either of those two works. An even earlier precedent, which might well have been the direct inspiration of the Prokofiev piece, is Schumann’s Toccata, Op.7, but the essential difference is that Schumann, for all his energy, cannot long resist the lyrical impulse, whereas Prokofiev rigorously excludes it. Sustained by much the same rhythmic impulse from beginning to end, Prokofiev’s Toccata heightens the aggression with harsh dissonances, argumentative counterpoints and glaring metallic colours.