Re: Unusual cross-staff stem in Bartók

[Simon Albrecht]

On 14.01.20 18:15, Arle Lommel wrote:
> Why Bartók didn’t simply show the bottom D in the treble clef is an 
> interesting question. I think he was trying to keep the relationship 
> between the hands clear, but couldn’t quite include the upper D in a 
> way that made sense without splitting it like this. Had he put the 
> lower D in the treble clef where it more apparently belongs, it might 
> have led to confusion about which hand was to play it.

To me the question would be why these two chords can’t be all stem-down, 
i.e. with the beam within or below the lower staff. That would put the 
noteheads on the same side and allow for using common constructs.

Best, Simon