toccata style
Italian era
Definition
A rhythmically relentless, motorically driven texture in which repeated-note or repeated-chord figuration propels the music forward with almost mechanical energy. Associated with Bartók's Allegro Barbaro and the third Study (Op. 18, No. 3), as well as Prokofiev's Toccata and other early 20th-century percussive piano writing.
Interpretive Guidance
In toccata passages, every note is equally short and equally attacked. Keep the wrist flexible but the fingers firm. Resist any tendency to swell or slow — the point is relentlessness. Speed is secondary to evenness and physical efficiency.