Béla Bartók

Composers

Biography

Born: 1881   Died: 1945   Country: Hungary   Period: 20th Century
Through his far-reaching endeavors as composer, performer, educator, and ethnomusicolgist, Béla Bartók emerged as one of the most forceful and influential musical personalities of the twentieth century. Born in Nagyszentmiklós, Hungary (now Romania), on March 25, 1881, Bartók began his musical training with piano studies at the age of five, foreshadowing his lifelong affinity for the instrument. Following his graduation from the Royal Academy of Read more Music in 1901 and the composition of his first mature works -- most notably, the symphonic poem Kossuth (1903) -- Bartók embarked on one of the classic field studies in the history of ethnomusicology. With fellow countryman and composer Zoltán Kodály, he traveled throughout Hungary and neighboring countries, collecting thousands of authentic folk songs. Bartók's immersion in this music lasted for decades, and the intricacies he discovered therein, from plangent modality to fiercely aggressive rhythms, exerted a potent influence on his own musical language.

In addition to his compositional activities and folk music research, Bartók's career unfolded amid a bustling schedule of teaching and performing. The great success he enjoyed as a concert artist in the 1920s was offset somewhat by difficulties that arose from the tenuous political atmosphere in Hungary, a situation exacerbated by the composer's frank manner. As the specter of fascism in Europe in the 1930s grew ever more sinister, he refused to play in Germany and banned radio broadcasts of his music there and in Italy. A concert in Budapest on October 8, 1940, was the composer's farewell to the country which had provided him so much inspiration and yet caused him so much grief. Days later, Bartók and his wife set sail for America.

In his final years Bartók was beleaguered by poor health. Though his prospects seemed sunnier in the final year of his life, his last great hope -- to return to Hungary -- was dashed in the aftermath of World War II. He died of leukemia in New York on September 26, 1945. The composer's legacy included a number of ambitious but unrealized projects, including a Seventh String Quartet; two major works, the Viola Concerto and the Piano Concerto No. 3, were completed from Bartók's in-progress scores and sketches by his pupil, Tibor Serly.

From its roots in the music he performed as a pianist -- Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, Brahms -- Bartók's own style evolved through several stages into one of the most distinctive and influential musical idioms of the first half of the twentieth century. The complete assimilation of elements from varied sources -- the Classical masters, contemporaries like Debussy, folk songs -- is one of the signal traits of Bartók's music. The polychromatic orchestral textures of Richard Strauss had an immediate and long-lasting effect upon Bartók's own instrumental sense, evidenced in masterpieces such as Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celesta (1936) and the Concerto for Orchestra (1945). Bartók demonstrated an especial concern with form in his exploitation and refinement of devices like palindromes, arches, and proportions based on the "golden section." Perhaps above all other elements, though, it is the ingenious application of rhythm that gives Bartók's music its keen edge. Inspired by the folk music he loved, Bartók infused his works with asymmetrical, sometimes driving, often savage, rhythms, which supply violent propulsion to works such as Allegro barbaro (1911) and the Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion (1937). If a single example from Bartók's catalogue can be regarded as representative, it is certainly the piano collection Mikrokosmos (1926-1939), originally intended as a progressive keyboard primer for the composer's son, Peter. These six volumes, comprising 153 pieces, remain valuable not only as a pedagogical tool but as an exhaustive glossary of the techniques -- melodic, harmonic, rhythmic, formal -- that provided a vessel for Bartók's extraordinary musical personality. Read less
Browse 1-15 of 15 Available Recordings
  • 1.
    Dohnanyi, Bartok, A. Fischer, K. Kentner And Cziffra Play Liszt
    Dohnanyi, Bartok, A. Fischer, K. Kentner And Cziffra Play Liszt
    Label: Hungaroton   Catalog: 32704 Release Date: 04/26/2011   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Franz Liszt
    Performer:  Ernö von Dohnányi,  Béla Bartók,  Annie Fischer,  Lajos Kentner  ... 
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  • 2.
    A Century Of Romantic Chopin
    A Century Of Romantic Chopin
    Label: Marston   Catalog: 54001 Release Date: 08/19/2010   Number of Discs: 4
    Composer:  Frédéric Chopin
    Performer:  Moritz Rosenthal,  Alfred Cortot,  Rosita Renard,  Sydney Foster  ... 
    Conductor:  Sir John Barbirolli
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  • 3.
    Bartok: Contrasts, Mikrokosmos / Bartok, Szigeti, Goodman
    Bartok: Contrasts, Mikrokosmos / Bartok, Szigeti, Goodman
    Label: Cbs Masterworks Portrait   Catalog: 47676 Release Date: 03/25/2010   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Béla Bartók
    Performer:  Béla Bartók,  Joseph Szigeti,  Benny Goodman
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  • 4.
    Bartók: Contrasts, Mikrokosmos / Bartók, Goodman, Szigeti
    Bartók: Contrasts, Mikrokosmos / Bartók, Goodman, Szigeti
    Label: Membran International Gmbh   Catalog: 2223546 Release Date: 06/02/2009   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Béla Bartók
    Performer:  Béla Bartók,  Benny Goodman,  Joseph Szigeti
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  • 5.
    Composers In Person
    Composers In Person
    Label: Emi Classics   Catalog: 17575 Release Date: 11/24/2008   Number of Discs: 22
    Composer:  Béla Bartók,  Ernö von Dohnányi,  Paul Hindemith,  Aram Khachaturian  ... 
    Performer:  Béla Bartók,  Vilma Medgyaszay,  Ferenc Szekeres,  Zoltán Székely  ... 
    Conductor:  Lawrence Collingwood,  Paul Hindemith,  Aram Khachaturian,  Arthur Honegger  ... 
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  Percurama Percussion Ensemble
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  • 6.
    Bartok: Piano Works / Kocsis, Schiff, Bartok
    Bartok: Piano Works / Kocsis, Schiff, Bartok
    Label: Brilliant Classics   Catalog: 8529 Release Date: 10/21/2008   Number of Discs: 2
    Composer:  Béla Bartók
    Performer:  Zoltán Kocsis,  András Schiff,  Béla Bartók
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  • 7.
    Dances - Brahms, Chopin, Falla, Etc / Natalia Khoma, Volodymyr Vynnytsky
    Dances - Brahms, Chopin, Falla, Etc / Natalia Khoma, Volodymyr Vynnytsky
    Label: Blue Griffin   Catalog: 149 Release Date: 04/08/2008   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Béla Bartók,  Enrique Granados,  Manuel de Falla,  Johannes Brahms  ... 
    Performer:  Natalia Khoma,  Volodymyr Vynnytsky,  Béla Bartók
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  • 8.
    Bartok Plays Bartok
    Bartok Plays Bartok
    Label: Urania   Catalog: 340 Release Date: 01/29/2008   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Béla Bartók
    Performer:  Benny Goodman,  Béla Bartók,  Joseph Szigeti
    Conductor:  Herbert von Karajan
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  Philharmonia Orchestra
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  • 9.
    Composers In Person - Bela Bartók, Ernö Dohnányi
    Composers In Person - Bela Bartók, Ernö Dohnányi
    Label: Emi Classics   Catalog: 55031 Release Date: 07/09/2007   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Béla Bartók,  Ernö von Dohnányi
    Performer:  Béla Bartók,  Ernö von Dohnányi,  Joseph Szigeti,  Ferenc Székelyhídy  ... 
    Conductor:  Lawrence Collingwood
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  London Symphony Orchestra
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  • 10.
    Joseph Szigeti (Box)
    Joseph Szigeti (Box)
    Label: Membran International Gmbh   Catalog: 222365 Release Date: 04/06/2005   Number of Discs: 4
    Composer:  Igor Stravinsky,  Ernest Bloch,  Béla Bartók,  Sergei Prokofiev  ... 
    Performer:  Joseph Szigeti,  Igor Stravinsky,  Béla Bartók,  Benny Goodman  ... 
    Conductor:  Willem Mengelberg,  Constant Lambert,  Sir Thomas Beecham,  Bruno Walter
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra,  Philharmonia Orchestra,  London Philharmonic Orchestra  ... 
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  • 11.
    Historical - A Sonata Recital By Szigeti & Bartók
    Historical - A Sonata Recital By Szigeti & Bartók
    Label: Vanguard   Catalog: 1583 Release Date: 12/07/2004   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Ludwig van Beethoven,  Claude Debussy,  Béla Bartók
    Performer:  Joseph Szigeti,  Béla Bartók
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  • 12.
    Masters Of The Piano Roll - Mahler; Bartok
    Masters Of The Piano Roll - Mahler; Bartok
    Label: Dal Segno   Catalog: 6 Release Date: 03/30/2004   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Gustav Mahler,  Franz Liszt,  Béla Bartók,  Franz Schubert  ... 
    Performer:  Béla Bartók,  Gustav Mahler
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  • 13.
    Bartók Plays Bartók - Mikrokosmos, Etc / Baker, Rubsam, Etc
    Bartók Plays Bartók - Mikrokosmos, Etc / Baker, Rubsam, Etc
    Label: Pearl   Catalog: 179 Release Date: 02/25/2003   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Béla Bartók
    Performer:  Béla Bartók,  Henry J. Baker,  Ditta Bartók-Pásztory,  Edward J. Rubsam
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  • 14.
    Recorded History Of The Violin Vol 2 / Szigeti, Et Al
    Recorded History Of The Violin Vol 2 / Szigeti, Et Al
    Label: Idi   Catalog: 283 Release Date: 02/15/1999   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  George Frideric Handel,  Ludwig van Beethoven,  Johannes Brahms,  Antonín Dvorák  ... 
    Performer:  Henry Bird,  Joseph Szigeti,  Jelly D'Aranyi,  Stefi Geyer  ... 
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  • 15.
    Benny Goodman Collector's Edition
    Benny Goodman Collector's Edition
    Label: Cbs Masterworks   Catalog: 42227 Release Date: 10/25/1990   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Béla Bartók,  Morton Gould,  Igor Stravinsky,  Aaron Copland  ... 
    Performer:  Joseph Szigeti,  Benny Goodman,  Béla Bartók
    Conductor:  Morton Gould,  Igor Stravinsky,  Aaron Copland,  Leonard Bernstein
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  Columbia Jazz Band,  Columbia Symphony Orchestra
    CD: $8.99
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