The 153 piano pieces of B�la Bart�k�s Mikrokosmos are a milestone in piano literature. Drawing on a wide range of sources, from musical terms and technical procedures to indications of regional provenance and folk derivation, they are arranged in order of increasing technical and musical difficulty, while encapsulating Bart�k�s maturing soundworld during the period 1926�1939. When asked, near the end of his life, about the meaning of his chosen title, Bart�k explained that �Mikrokosmos may be interpreted as a series of pieces in many different styles, representing a small world. Or it may be interpreted as �world of the little ones, the children��.