One of the results of Béla Bartók's intensive engagement with the musical folklore of Southeast Europe is the Romanian Folk Dances for piano. This composition, created in 1915, is just one example among many similar works from this creative period. It consists of original folk melodies that Bartók recorded in Romania and harmonized himself. Subsequently, he arranged these for a small orchestra (in 1917), and soon after, an arrangement for violin and piano was made with his consent. The latter version by Zoltán Székely forms the basis for the present arrangement for clarinet and piano. The clarinet, more than any other instrument, is capable of expressing the bucolic character inherent in this music.