Béla Bartók A Celebration

This compilation of essays, lectures, and scholarly papers on Bart-k studies from 1953 to the present includes insights obtained by the author over a half-century career as a Bart-k specialist.Divided into three parts, chapters examine Bart-k as a multifaceted music figure: composer, folklorist, pianist, and teacher. As composer, it includes program notes, an introduction to his principles of composition, and theoretic-analytical discussion of selected works, including Mikrokosmos. As folklorist, it examines the outcome of Bart-k's fieldwork, methodology, and findings in East European, Arabic, and Turkist autochthonous folk music materials. Bart-k's American years are also discussed. The narrative is supported by a substantial number of musical examples and references.

Benjamin Suchoff is adjunct professor in the Department of Ethnomusicology at the University of California, Los Angeles.