The Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta is a central work not only in Bartók's oeuvre, it is also recognized as a key work in the music of the 20th century.

ln spite of thework's monothematic conception, all four movements have their own individual character. The constant return of the fugal theme from the first movement gives an organic unity to a series of complementary moods. The theme appearseither in its original form or in inversions, so