A bagatelle is a short piece of music, typically for the piano, and usually of a light, mellow character. The name bagatelle literally means a "trifle", as a reference to the innocent character of the piece.

Earliest known bagatelle

The earliest bagatelle with that name was by François Couperin, in his tenth harpsichord ordre, in which a rondeau was entitled Les bagatelles.

Best known bagatelles

The best known bagatelles are probably those by Ludwig van Beethoven, who published three sets, Opus 33, Opus 119 and Opus 126, and wrote a number of similar works that were unpublished in his lifetime including the piece that is popularly known as Für Elise. Other notable examples are Franz Liszt's Bagatelle sans tonalité (an early exploration into atonality), the set by Antonín Dvořák for two violins, cello and harmonium (opus 47), and sets by Bedřich Smetana, Tcherepnin's Bagatelles, and Jean Sibelius. Antonio Diabelli also wrote a Bagatelle in a short, happy form. Saint-Saëns, wrote six Bagatelles, Op. 3. In the 20th century, several composers have written sets, including Béla Bartók, who wrote a set of fourteen (opus 6); Anton Webern, wrote a set of six for string quartet (opus 9); Gerald Finzi, who wrote Five Bagatelles for clarinet and piano. Another canonical modern bagatelle is the set by György Ligeti, who originally composed Six Bagatelles for piano, and then later arranged it for wind quintet in 1953 (Bagatelles for Wind Quintet). William Walton also wrote Five Bagatelles for Guitar, which has been recorded by several eminent classical guitarists, including Julian Bream, Christopher Parkening, and Ana Vidovic. The American Composer, Charles Wuorinen, wrote a Bagatelle for solo piano, which he later orchestrated.Australian composer Carl Vine also wrote Five Bagatelles for Piano (1994), which are quite frequently performed at piano competitions, especially in Australia.

See also

Fur Elise

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