Aulos 1

Aulos to a certain degree continues Orbáns easy piano pieces for children, which he composed for Ágnes Lakoss piano tutor and which Editio Musica Budapest published in a separate volume entitled Enchanted Forest in 2011 (Z. 14742).

Yet on this occasion the composer took on something which was both significantly different and more than his earlier pieces for children. On the one hand, he did not compose for beginners but for more advanced students who have studied piano for at least threeyears. On the other, he did not set developing the technique of piano playing as an aim, rather a systematic presentation of different polyphonic genres and compositional procedures (imitation, fugue, stretto, inversion, augmentation and diminution,double counterpoint, latent polyphony, double and triple fugue, cantus firmus technique, etc.).

The educational use of the series is significantly increased by the fact that before each piece the composer presents and clarifies with demonstrative illustrations the polyphonic procedure he introduces. Orbáns explanations are not text-book-like atall, but are deliberately personal and subjective, full of lessons and individual associations taken from his practice as a composer. They were written in the same spirit as the works themselves - while they perfectly fulfil their educational purposethey are equally individual, witty and inspired pieces of music that are a joy to play.