Béla Bartók

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Bartók Béla (as he would be known in Hungary, as last names come first) was born in 1881 in Nagyszentmiklos, Hungary, which would ultimately became part of Romania (Sinnicolau Mare). He studied piano and ultimately was trained at the Budapest Academy until 1903, where he studied composition with Koessler. Initially influenced by Richard Strauss, he composed a work entitled Kossuth in 1903.

Beginning in 1904, Bartók became interested in transcribing Hungarian folk songs, and this passion for fold music continued throughout his lifetime. He also became acquainted with the music of Arnold Schoenberg by the early 1920's, and many of Bartók's works from that period, such as the Piano Concerto #1 and the two sonatas for violin and piano, reflect a growing interest in the music of his time.

Bartók, having divorced his first wife, remarried Ditta Pasztory in 1923, and the two of them often performed works for two pianos. Because of the growing Nazi presence in the 1930's, Bartók and his family relocated to the United States, having composed several string quartets, two violin concerti, Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta, and other masterpieces while in Europe.

His financial position precarious, and his health poor, Bartók lived on the West Side of New York City, surviving on a few commissions such as that for the Concerto for Orchestra of 1943. During his last years, Bartók also composed his Sonata for Violin Solo (1944), the Third Piano Concerto (op posthumous; the remaining few measures were orchestrated by his student Tibor Serly) and the unfinished Viola Concerto (also completed by Serly). Bartók died in New York City on September 26th, 1945; a plaque honors his apartment near Lincoln Center where he spent his last years. He was also survived by his son, Peter.