Béla Bartók Works

Béla Bartók (1881 - 1945) was a Hungarian composer and pianist. Considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century, he and Liszt are often regarded as Hungary's greatest composers. Through his collection and analytical study of folk music, he was one of the founders of comparative musicology, which later became ethnomusicology.

Among his masterworks are the six string quartets (1908, 1917, 1927, 1928, 1934, and 1939); the Cantata Profana (1930); the Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta (1936); the Concerto for Orchestra (1943); and the Third Piano Concerto (1945). The astonishing quartets rank among the greatest chamber works ever written!

Béla Bartók's Mikrokosmos (German for Microcosm) Sz. 107, BB 105, consists of 153 progressive piano pieces in six volumes written between 1926 and 1939. The individual pieces progress from very easy and simple beginner études to very difficult advanced technical displays, and are used in modern piano lessons and education. Volumes one and two are dedicated to his son Péter, while volumes five and six are intended as concert pieces. Bartók also indicated that these pieces could also be played on other instruments; Huguette Dreyfus for example has recorded pieces from Books 3 through 6 on the harpsichord.