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Béla Bartók (1881-1945)

Bela Bartok composerBéla Bartók is recognized as one of the most important composers of the 20th century. His style grew out of romanticism and nationalism to embrace new currents heard in the music of Debussy. Inspired by Hungarian traditional songs and dances which he collected with Zoltan Kodály (they collected some 10,000 songs from Hungary and Romania, Central Europe, Turkey, and North Africa), he incorporated folk modes and irregular rhythmic patterns into his highly original scores. His skills as a pianist are apparent in the novel keyboard writing of his works for solo piano and his piano concertos. Bartók's music is characterized by defined but loose tonal centers, percussiveness,  dissonances, tone clusters, and classical forms (especially in his later works).

COMPOSITIONS                                                            Bartók Links     ~ ~ ~     Works by Genre    ~ ~ ~    Bartók on Bartók
Scherzo, orchestra, BB 19 (1901)
Violin Sonata, BB 28 (1903)
Kossuth, orchestra, BB 31 (1903)
Piano Quintet, BB 33 (1904)
Scherzo (Burlesque), op. 2, BB 35 (1904)
Rhapsody, op. 1, BB 36a (1904); BB 36b, version for piano and orchestra (1905)
Hungarian Folksongs, voice and piano, BB 37 (1904-05)
Suite No. 1, op. 3, BB 39 (1905)
Suite No. 2 (Serenade), op. 4, BB 40 (1905-07, rev. 1920/1943)
Hungarian Folksongs, voice and piano, BB 41, 42, 43, 44 (1905-1907)
3 Hungarian Folksongs from Csik, piano, BB 45b [Sz. 35a] (1907)
4 Slovakian Folksongs, voice and piano, BB 46 (1907)
8 Hungarian Folksongs, voice and piano, BB 47 (1907-17)
2 Portraits, orchestra, op. 5, BB 48b (1907-08)                                                                                ~ top of page ~
Violin Concerto [No. 1], BB 48a (1907-08)  
2 Elegies, piano, op. 8b, BB 49 (1908-09)
14 Bagatelles, piano, op. 6, BB 50 (1908)
10 Easy Pieces, piano, BB 51 (1908)
String Quartet No. 1, op. 7, BB 52 (1908-09)
For Children, 85 pieces for piano, BB 53 (1908-10; rev. 1943)
7 Sketches, piano, op. 9b, BB 54 (1908-10)
3 Burlesques, piano, op. 8c, BB 55 (1908-11)
2 Romanian Dances, piano, op. 8z, BB 56 (1909-10)
4 Dirges, piano, op. 9a, BB 58 (1909-10)
2 Pictures, orchestra, op. 10, BB 59 (1910)
Duke Bluebeard’s Castle, opera, op. 11, BB 62 (1911; rev. 1912, 1917-18)
Allegro barbaro, piano, BB 63 (1911)
4 Pieces, orchestra, op. 12, BB 64 (1912)
9 Romanian Folksongs, voice and piano, BB 65 (1912)
First Term at the Piano, 18 pieces for piano, BB 66 (1913)
Romanian Christmas Songs, 20 pieces for piano, BB 67 (1915)
Folksongs, voice and piano, BB 71, 72, 73 (1915)
Romanian Folk Dances, piano, BB 68 (1915); BB 76, version for orchestra (1917)
Sonatina, piano, BB 69 (1915)
Suite, piano, op. 14, BB 70 (1916)
Wooden Prince, ballet, op. 13, BB 74 (1914-16)
String Quartet No. 2, op. 17, BB 75 (1914-17)
Slovak Folksongs, chorus, BB 77, 78 (1916-17)
15 Hungarian Peasant Songs, BB 79 (1914-18)
3 Hungarian Folk Tunes, piano, BB 80b [Sz. 66] (1914-18)
3 Etudes (Studies), piano, op. 18, BB 81 (1918)
Miraculous Mandarin, ballet, op. 19, BB 82 (1918-19; rev. 1926-31)
8 Improvisations on Hungarian Peasant Songs, op. 20, BB 83 (1920)
Violin Sonata No. 1, BB 84 (1921)
Violin Sonata No. 2, BB 85 (1922)                                                                                                      ~ top of page ~
Dance Suite, orchestra, BB 86a (1923)
3 Village Scenes, female chorus and orchestra, BB 87b (1926)
Piano Sonata, BB 88 (1926)
Out of Doors, piano, BB 89 (1926)
9 Little Piano Pieces, BB 90 (1926)
Piano Concerto No. 1, BB 91 (1926)
3 Rondos on Slovak Folktunes, piano, BB 92 (1916-27)
String Quartet No. 3, BB 93 (1927)
Rhapsody No. 1, violin and piano, BB 94a (1928); orchestral version, BB 94b (1928-29)
String Quartet No. 4, BB 95 (1928)
Rhapsody No. 2, violin and piano, BB 96a (1928); orchestral version, BB 96b (1928; rev. 1935)
5 Hungarian Folksongs, voice and piano, BB 97 (1928)
20 Hungarian Folksongs, voice and piano, BB 98 (1929)
Hungarian Folksongs, chorus, BB 99 (1930)
Cantata Profana, soloist, chorus and orchestra, BB 100 (1930)
Piano Concerto No. 2, BB 101 (1930-31)
Transylvanian Dances, piano, BB 102a (1931); orchestral version, BB 102b (1931)
Hungarian Sketches, orchestra (arr. from various piano works), BB 103 (1931)
44 Duos for Two Violins, BB 104 (1931)
Mikrokosmos, piano, BB 105 (1926, 1932-39)
Szekely Folksongs, male chorus, BB 106 (1932)
Hungarian Peasant Songs, orchestra (arr. from movements of piano work, BB 79), BB 107 (1933)
5 Hungarian Folksongs, chorus (arr. from movements of songs, BB 98), BB 108 (1933)
Strings Quartet No. 5, BB 110 (1934)
27 Two & Three Part Choruses, BB 111 (1935-36)
From Olden Times, male chorus, BB 112 (1935)
Petite Suite, piano (arr. from Violin Duos), BB 113 (1936)
Music for Strings, Percussion and Celeste, BB 114 (1936)
Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion, BB 115 (1937; orchestral version, 1943)
Contrasts, violin, clarinet and piano, BB 116 (1938)
Violin Concerto [No. 2], BB 117 (1937-18)                                                                                      ~ top of page ~
Divertimento for String Orchestra, BB 118 (1939)
String Quartet No. 6, BB 119 (1939)
Concerto for Two Pianos, Percussion and Orchestra, BB 121 (1940) (arr. of BB 115)
Concerto for Orchestra, BB 123 (1943; rev. 1945)
Sonata for Solo Violin, BB 124 (1944)
Piano Concerto No. 3, BB 127 (1945)
Viola Concerto, BB 128 (1945)


WORKS BY GENRE                                                            Bartók Links    ~ ~ ~    Bartók on Bartók      ~ top of page ~
Dramatic/Theater
Duke Bluebeard’s Castle, opera, op. 11, BB 62 (1911; rev. 1912, 1917-18)
Wooden Prince, ballet, op. 13, BB 74 (1914-16)
Miraculous Mandarin, ballet, op. 19, BB 82 (1918-19; rev. 1926-31)

Orchestra
Scherzo, orchestra, BB 19 (1901)
Kossuth, orchestra, BB 31 (1903)
Suite No. 1, orchestra, op. 3, BB 39 (1905)
Suite No. 2 (Serenade), chamber orchestra, op. 4, BB 40 (1905-07, rev. 1920/1943)
2 Portraits, orchestra, op. 5, BB 48b (1907-08)
2 Pictures, orchestra, op. 10, BB 59 (1910)
4 Pieces, orchestra, op. 12, BB 64 (1912)
Romanian Folk Dances, piano, BB 68 (1915; BB 76, version for orchestra, 1917)
Dance Suite, orchestra, BB 86a (1923)
Transylvanian Dances, piano, BB 102a (1931; orchestral version, BB 102b,1931)
Hungarian Sketches, orchestra (arr. from various piano works), BB 103 (1931)
Hungarian Peasant Songs, orchestra (arr. from movements of piano work, BB 79), BB 107 (1933)
Music for Strings, Percussion and Celeste, BB 114 (1936)
Divertimento for String Orchestra, BB 118 (1939)
Concerto for Orchestra, BB 123 (1943; rev. 1945)

Soloist(s) w/Orchestra
Scherzo (Burlesque), piano and orchestra, op. 2, BB 35 (1904)
Rhapsody, op. 1, BB 36a (1904; BB 36b, version for piano and orchestra,1905)
Violin Concerto [No. 1], BB 48a (1907-08)
Piano Concerto No. 1, BB 91 (1926)
Rhapsody No. 1, violin and piano, BB 94a (1928; orchestral version, BB 94b, 1928-29)
Rhapsody No. 2, violin and piano, BB 96a (1928; orchestral version, BB 96b, 1928; rev. 1935)
Piano Concerto No. 2, BB 101 (1930-31)
Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion, BB 115 (1937; orchestral version, BB 121, 1940)
Violin Concerto [No. 2], BB 117 (1937-18)
Piano Concerto No. 3, BB 127 (1945)                                                                                              ~ top of page ~
Viola Concerto, BB 128 (1945)

Chorus w/Orchestra
3 Village Scenes, female chorus and orchestra, BB 87b (1926)
Cantata Profana, soloist, chorus and orchestra, BB 100 (1930)

Choral
Slovak Folksongs, chorus, BB 77, 78 (1916-17)
Hungarian Folksongs, chorus, BB 99 (1930)
Szekely Folksongs, male chorus, BB 106 (1932)
5 Hungarian Folksongs, chorus (arr. from movements of songs, BB 98), BB 108 (1933)
27 Two & Three Part Choruses, BB 111 (1935-36)
From Olden Times, male chorus, BB 112 (1935)

Chamber
Piano Quintet, BB 33 (1904)
String Quartet No. 1, op. 7, BB 52 (1908-09)
String Quartet No. 2, op. 17, BB 75 (1914-17)
String Quartet No. 3, BB 93 (1927)
String Quartet No. 4, BB 95 (1928)
44 Duos for Two Violins, BB 104 (1931)
Strings Quartet No. 5, BB 110 (1934)
Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion, BB 115 (1937)
Contrasts, violin, clarinet and piano, BB 116 (1938)
String Quartet No. 6, BB 119 (1939)

Solo Instrument
Violin Sonata, BB 28 (1903)
Violin Sonata No. 1, BB 84 (1921)
Violin Sonata No. 2, BB 85 (1922)
Rhapsody No. 1, violin and piano, BB 94a (1928)
Rhapsody No. 2, violin and piano, BB 96a (1928)
Sonata for Solo Violin, BB 124 (1944)                                                                                              ~ top of page ~

Piano
Rhapsody, piano, op. 1, BB 36a (1904)
3 Hungarian Folksongs from Csik, piano, BB 45b [Sz. 35a] (1907)
2 Elegies, piano, op. 8b, BB 49 (1908-09)
14 Bagatelles, piano, op. 6, BB 50 (1908)
10 Easy Pieces, piano, BB 51 (1908)
For Children, 85 pieces for piano, BB 53 (1908-10; rev. 1943)
7 Sketches, piano, op. 9b, BB 54 (1908-10)
3 Burlesques, piano, op. 8c, BB 55 (1908-11)
2 Romanian Dances, piano, op. 8z, BB 56 (1909-10)
4 Dirges, piano, op. 9a, BB 58 (1909-10)
Allegro barbaro, piano, BB 63 (1911)
First Term at the Piano, 18 pieces for piano, BB 66 (1913)
Romanian Christmas Songs, 20 pieces for piano, BB 67 (1915)
Romanian Folk Dances, piano, BB 68 (1915)
Sonatina, piano, BB 69 (1915)
Suite, piano, op. 14, BB 70 (1916)
15 Hungarian Peasant Songs, piano, BB 79 (1914-18)
3 Hungarian Folk Tunes, piano, BB 80b [Sz. 66] (1914-18)
3 Etudes (Studies), piano, op. 18, BB 81 (1918)
8 Improvisations on Hungarian Peasant Songs, piano, op. 20, BB 83 (1920)
Piano Sonata, BB 88 (1926)
Out of Doors, piano, BB 89 (1926)
9 Little Piano Pieces, piano, BB 90 (1926)
3 Rondos on Slovak Folktunes, piano, BB 92 (1916-27)
Transylvanian Dances, piano, BB 102a (1931)
Mikrokosmos, piano, BB 105 (1926, 1932-39)
Petite Suite, piano (arr. from Violin Duos), BB 113 (1936)
                                                                                                                                                                 ~ top of page ~
Vocal
Hungarian Folksongs, voice and piano, BB 37 (1904-05)
Hungarian Folksongs, voice and piano, BB 41, 42, 43, 44 (1905-1907)
4 Slovakian Folksongs, voice and piano, BB 46 (1907)
8 Hungarian Folksongs, voice and piano, BB 47 (1907-17)
9 Romanian Folksongs, voice and piano, BB 65 (1912)
Folksongs, voice and piano, BB 71, 72, 73 (1915)
5 Hungarian Folksongs, voice and piano, BB 97 (1928)
20 Hungarian Folksongs, voice and piano, BB 98 (1929)


BARTOK  LINKS                                                            Works by Genre     ~ ~ ~    Bartók on Bartók      ~ top of page ~
Béla Bartók 1881–1945 (The Musical Times)
Béla Bartók and Turn-of-the-Century Hungary (Rory Braddell, The Handstand)
Béla Bartók Dies In Hospital Here (The New York Times)
Béla Bartók: Finding a Voice Through Folk Music (Marin Alsop and Scott Simon, NPR)
Béla Bartók - There's a Composer at the Next Station (Norman Lebrecht, La Scena Musicale)
Béla Bartók Transcriptions in the Milman Parry Collection
Benny Goodman, Béla Bartók and the Celebrity Series (Aisle Be Seeing You)
Building a Classical Music Library: Bela Bartok (Stephen Moss, The Guardian)
Comments on Béla Bartók's Working Method ... Violin Concerto (Ferenc Bónis, Library of Congress)
Contrasts by Béla Bartók (Eric Tishkoff)
Duke Bluebeard's Castle by Béla Bartók (John Crace, The Guardian)
Famous Hungarians: Béla Bartók (Caught in the Middle)
Formal Considerations in Béla Bartók's Fourth String Quartet (Michael Ladd)
Muzsikás and Béla Bartók (Louis Proyect)

Books
Béla Bartók: A Guide to Research (Elliott Antokoletz, Routledge Pr, books.google.com)
Bartók and the Piano: A Performer's View (David Witten, Project MUSE)
Bartók, Hungary, and the Renewal of Tradition (David E. Schneider, Univ of California Pr, books.google.com)
Béla Bartók: A Celebration (Benjamin Suchoff, Scarecrow Press, books.google.com)
Béla Bartók Essays (Béla Bartók, Benjamin Suchoff, Univ of Nebraska Pr, books.google.com)
Béla Bartók: Life and Work (Benjamin Suchoff, Scarecrow Press, books.google.com)
Béla Bartók Studies in Ethnomusicology (Béla Bartók, Benjamin Suchoff, Univ of Nebraska Pr, books.google.com)
The Life and Music of Béla Bartók (Halsey Stevens, Malcolm Gillies, Oxford Univ Pr, books.google.com)
The Music of Béla Bartók: A Study of Tonality and Progression ... (Elliott Antokoletz, Univ of California Pr, books.google.com)

Composer website (at Boosey & Hawkes)   . . .   inquire about Béla Bartók:  here

Bartók Archives (The Hungarian Academy of Sciences Institute for Musicology)
Bartók Museum
Bartók Virtual Exhibition (The Hungarian Academy of Sciences Institute for Musicology)

Bartók @ Wikipedia
Bartók @ Wikipedia/List of Compositions Showing Four Catalog Numbers
Bartók @ 20th Century Arts and Humanities (Dr. Michael Delahoyde, Washington State University)
Bartók @ About.com
Bartók @ Alkerstedt.com
Bartók @ American Ballet Theatre
Bartók @ American Classical Music Hall of Fame
Bartók @ Answers.com    also     here
Bartók @ Art + Culture
Bartók @ Audiophile Audition (via Google Advanced Search)
Bartók @ Bach Cantatas
Bartók @ bartókcds.com
Bartók @ Bartók Records and Publications
Bartók @ Béla Bartók Hungarian Collecting Online
Bartók @ Béla-Bartók-No1-Fan
Bartók @ BFI Screenonline
Bartók @ biographybase
Bartók @ Boosey & Hawkes
Bartók @ Carnegie Hall
Bartók @ Carnegie Hall Performance Guide/Bartók String Quartets
Bartók @ Charles Hollister's Website
Bartók @ Classic Cat
Bartók @ Classical.com
Bartók @ Classical Archives
Bartók @ Classical Composers Database
Bartók @ Classical Net
Bartók @ Classical Notes
Bartók @ ClassicsToday
Bartók @ composition:today     also     here
Bartók @ Cornelia Sell (translated by Google)
Bartók @ Dilettante Music
Bartók @ Dr. Estrella's Incredibly Abridged Dictionary of Composers
Bartók @ Editio Musica Budapest
Bartók @ The Enjoyment of Music
Bartók @ 8notes
Bartók @ enotes.com
Bartók @ Everything2
Bartók @ Facebook
Bartók @ Find a Grave    also     here
Bartók @ fuguemasters.com
Bartók @ Harvard Square Library/Notable Unitarians
Bartók @ Historic Saranac Lake
Bartók @ Humanities Web
Bartók @ IMDb (Internet Movie Database)
Bartók @ IMSLP/Petrucci Music Library
Bartók @ Infoplease
Bartók @ InstantEncore
Bartók @ Internet Archive
Bartók @ IPL2
Bartók @ Karadar Classical Music
Bartók @ The Kennedy Center
Bartók @ Klassika
Bartók @ Kunst der Fuge
Bartók @ Los Angeles Philharmonic
Bartók @ Magazzini-Sonori.it (translated by Google)
Bartok @ Medieval Music & Arts Foundation
Bartók @ Music Academy Online
Bartók @ The Music Chamber
Bartók @ MusicWeb International
Bartók @ Music & Vision
Bartók @ Musically Speaking
Bartók @ MyMusicBase
Bartók @ MySpaceMusic
Bartók @ Naxos
Bartók @ The New York Times
Bartók @ NNDB
Bartók @ NPRmusc
Bartók @ Ovation TV
Bartók @ Piano Society
Bartók @ PBS/Great Performances
Bartók @ REC Music Foundation /The Lied and Art Song Texts Page
Bartók @ San Francisco Classical Voice
Bartók @ Singers.com
Bartók @ Stanley Kubrick's The Shining
Bartók @ Suite101.com
Bartók @ Unitarian Universalist Association
Bartók @ United States Marine Band
Bartók @ Universal Edition
Bartók @ Websophia

Publisher
Bartók @ Boosey & Hawkes
Bartók @ Editio Musica Budapest
Bartók @ Universal Edition

Streaming Audio
Bartók @ Carnegie Hall
Bartók @ Carnegie Hall Performance Guide/Bartók String Quartets
Bartók @ The Classical MIDI Connection
Bartók @ Classical Archives
Bartók @ Internet Archive
Bartók @ Kunst der Fuge
Bartók @ last.fm
Bartók @ Magazzini-Sonori.it
Bartók @ MidiWorld
Bartók @ MySpaceMusic
Bartók @ NPRmusc
Bartók @ Piano Society
Bartók @ PRX (Public Radio Exchange)
Bartók @ Rhapsody.com

Recordings
Bartók @ ArkivMusic
Bartók @ bartókcds.com
Bartók @ Bartók Records and Publications
Bartók @ Decca Classics
Bartók @ CD Universe
Bartók @ ClassicsOnline
Bartók  @ Discogs
Bartók @ itunes
Bartók @ Naxos

Video
Bartók @ YouTube
Bartók @ Google Video
Bartók @ Vimeo (via Google Advanced Search)
                                                                                                                                                                                ~ top of page ~
Bartók on Bartók: Interview from the Ask the Composer


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