The Composer Bela Bartok Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

The Composer Bela Bartok - Research Paper Example IV. Body Passage-III: This paragraph will contain a discussion about the people and their tastes during the times as well as the major influences in Bartok’s life and a comparison with other famous composers who lived during that period of time. V. Body Passage-IV: This passage will dwell on the composing style of Bartok, a discussion of his inspirations, a comparison with other musicians, his major innovations in composition etc. VI. Conclusion: The conclusion will recapitulate the major points included in the topic sentences of the body passages, restate the thesis, and sum up the essay. Bela Bartok Bela Bartok was born on 25th March 1881 in Baratian, a small town in Hungary. â€Å"Bela Bartok (1881-1945), the great Hungarian composer, was one of the most significant musicians of the twentieth century† (Hughes & Vetter 2007, 21). His father Bela senior belongs to a lower noble family of Hungary though his mother Paula hails from a Roman Catholic Serbian family in Serb ia. At the early stage itself, Bela started showing talent for music and often distinguished rhythms that his mother played on 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 Calibre began teaching him formally.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Bela was a sick child till the age of 5. He suffered from eczema. At the age of 7, he lost his father, and his mother shifted to Pozgony along with him and his sister Erzsebet. At Pozgony, Bela who was then 11 years, gave his first recital in public, that too his own composition which he did 2 years ago. Immediately after this, Laszio Erkel accepted him as his pupil.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   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 wor k, a symphonic poem, ‘Kossuth’, depicting the hero of Hungarian Revolution of 1848, came out in 1903. â€Å"Bartok displayed his love for music when he was only a child. It is said that even before he started talking, he could distinguish between different tunes of dance rhythms his mother played on the piano† (Bela Bartok n.d.).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   He was influenced in his early work by the music of Richard Strauss whom he met him in 1902. Then in 1904, in 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 â€Å"‘String Quartet No.1’† (The String Quartets: Bela Bartok 2008) in 1908. He became a pian o professor at the Royal Academy in the year 1907. His famous pupils were Gyongy Samdor Fritz Reiner, Lili Knaus, Emo Balogh, Jack Besson and Violet Archer.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In 1908, Bela and Kodaly jointly researched on old Magyar Folk Melodies. This collaboration coincided with the contemporary social interests in traditional culture. They discovered that Magyar Folk Music