Béla Bartók

• Born: March 25, 1881, Nagyszentmiklós, Hungary
• Died: September 26, 1945, New York, NY
• Active: '20s, '30s, '40s
• Genres: Classical
• Instrument: Guitar, Piano, Producer
• Representative Albums: "Turkish Folk Music Collection," "Kontraste-Mikrokosmos," "44 Duets for Violins on the Nyckelharpa"

Biography

An Hungarian composer and musicologist who transcribed Hungarian folk melodies and composed ballet, opera, orchestral, and chamber music, including "Dance Suite" (1923), "Sonata for Two Pianos & Percussion" (1937), "Mikrokosmos, 6 Books" (1926-39), and "Concerto for Orchestra" (1943). Bartók was a 20th-century original who showed how superb intellectual effort (he invented a composition system using Golden Sections, the Fibonnacci series, and quasi-serial techniques) and great passion (as can be seen in his in-depth studies of the Hungarian folk music, the "night music" expressionist social tension between the wars, and his own life as a forced émigré) can combine to make great art. ~ Blue Gene Tyranny, All Music Guide

Kontraste-Mikrokosmos Buy this CD

Turkish Folk Music Collection Buy this CD