Allegro barbaro, from Toccata alla Rumba
About this Piece
In 1981, German composer Andreas Willscher (b. 1955) gave his rousing Toccata alla Rumba the tempo indication “Allegro barbaro,” probably after a piano piece by Béla Bartók. The latter word of the tempo translates as “barbarous,” and perhaps that is an understatement, in light of its moments of loud rapture and cacophony.