Bela Bartok
Bela Bartok
Bela Bartok was born on March 25th, 1881 in Baratian, a small town in Hungary. His father, Bela Bartok Sr., belonged to a lower noble family of Hungary though his mother Paula came from a Roman Catholic Serbian family in Serbia. At an early age, Bela started showing talent for music and often distinguished rhythms when his mother played the piano. This was before he could even properly speak. At the age of 4, he played 40 pieces on the piano and his mother, recognizing his talent, began teaching him formally. [1] Bela was a sick child till the age of 5. He suffered from eczema, which was caused by a smallpox inoculation, and because of this he spent his early years in isolation away from other children. At the age of 7, he lost his father, and his mother moved to Pozgony along with Bela and his sister, Erzsebet. At Pozgony, Bela who was then 11, gave his first recital in public, performing his own composition, which he composed two years earlier. Immediately after this, Laszio Erkel accepted him as his pupil. Bela graduated from grammar school in 1899. Up to 1903, he studied piano and composition at the Royal Academy of music in Budapest. At this academy Bela met Zoltan Kodaly, who totally influenced him, and remained his life long friend and colleague. His first major orchestral work, a symphonic poem, ‘Kossuth’, honoring Lajos Kossuth, the hero of the Hungarian Revolution of 1848, came out in 1903.[2] He was influenced in his early work by the music of Richard Strauss whom he met in 1902. Then in 1904, at a holiday resort, he overheard Lidi Doza sing folk songs and this marked the beginning of his life-long dedication to folk music. He was also influenced by Claude Debussy, the French Composer. Bela’s style of orchestral work resembled those of Johannes Brahmas and Richard Strauss. He wrote a lot of small piano pieces showing great interest in folk music. The first of such piece was the ‘String Quartet No.1’ in
Bela Bartok was born on March 25th, 1881 in Baratian, a small town in Hungary. His father, Bela Bartok Sr., belonged to a lower noble family of Hungary though his mother Paula came from a Roman Catholic Serbian family in Serbia. At an early age, Bela started showing talent for music and often distinguished rhythms when his mother played the piano. This was before he could even properly speak. At the age of 4, he played 40 pieces on the piano and his mother, recognizing his talent, began teaching him formally. [1] Bela was a sick child till the age of 5. He suffered from eczema, which was caused by a smallpox inoculation, and because of this he spent his early years in isolation away from other children. At the age of 7, he lost his father, and his mother moved to Pozgony along with Bela and his sister, Erzsebet. At Pozgony, Bela who was then 11, gave his first recital in public, performing his own composition, which he composed two years earlier. Immediately after this, Laszio Erkel accepted him as his pupil. Bela graduated from grammar school in 1899. Up to 1903, he studied piano and composition at the Royal Academy of music in Budapest. At this academy Bela met Zoltan Kodaly, who totally influenced him, and remained his life long friend and colleague. His first major orchestral work, a symphonic poem, ‘Kossuth’, honoring Lajos Kossuth, the hero of the Hungarian Revolution of 1848, came out in 1903.[2] He was influenced in his early work by the music of Richard Strauss whom he met in 1902. Then in 1904, at a holiday resort, he overheard Lidi Doza sing folk songs and this marked the beginning of his life-long dedication to folk music. He was also influenced by Claude Debussy, the French Composer. Bela’s style of orchestral work resembled those of Johannes Brahmas and Richard Strauss. He wrote a lot of small piano pieces showing great interest in folk music. The first of such piece was the ‘String Quartet No.1’ in
Bibliography: Laszio Somfai, Bela Bartek-Composition Concepts and Autograph (University of California Press Los Angeles, California Year: 1996), page 2 Peter Hughes, Bela Bartok (Unitarian Universalist Historical Society) [1] Laszio Somfai, Bela Bartek-Composition Concepts and Autograph (University of California Press Los Angeles, California Year: 1996), page 2 [2] Peter Hughes, Bela Bartok (Unitarian Universalist Historical Society)