In his letter, Szigeti requested a duo for clarinet and violin with piano accompaniment, consisting of two contrasting movements, 6-7 minutes in duration, with cadenzas for both the clarinet and violin. Szigeti was probably expecting a short, flashy show-tune, in which case, he got much more than he bargained for.
Contrasts is a three movement work nearly three times the duration of the original request.
The music is an amalgam of abstracted Hungarian folk music combined with Rumanian dance melodies, Bulgarian and Greek meters, and a highly personalized, first-class command of 20th century compositional techniques. The second movement was omitted from the first performance. Apparently, Bart k was trying to adhere strictly to the original commission for two movements. However, internal evidence convincingly suggests that the middle movement was conceived along with the other two. Its lack of a strong pulse stands in contrast to the driving beats in both the outer movements.