Educated at the Bratislava Gymnasium, Bartok studied piano and composed some sonatas and quartets at an early age. He was accepted by the Vienna Conservatory in 1898. From 1899 to 1903, he attended the Budapest Academy and studied piano and composition. In 1903, he wrote Kossuth, a symphonic poem which was performed in both Budapest and Manchester. Bartok collected Hungarian folksongs which had a strong influence on his later works, beginning primarily with his String Quartet No. 1 (1908). Bartok was also influenced by the music of Debussy, Stravinksy, Richard Strauss (whom he had met during his time in Vienna) and Schonberg. By the 1920's, he had achieved international fame and travelled widely performing throughout Europe. Bartok left Hungary with his wife in 1940 and emigrated to New York. There he was awarded a research grant to work on Yugoslavian folksongs, however his main output of this period was the Concerto for Orchestra (1943) and the Sonata for Solo Violin (1944). Bartok produced a wide variety of music including opera, ballet, concertos, string quartets and a large number of folk pieces. |
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