Béla Bartók

Bartók, Béla (1881–1945), Hungarian composer, one of the major figures of 20th-century music, also a virtuoso concert pianist and teacher at the Budapest Academy of Music (1907–34). In 1940 he emigrated to the United States. His work owes much to the rhythmic and melodic vitality of Eastern European folk music, on which he was an authority. Bartok's major works include his six string quartets (1908–39), Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celesta (1936), and Concerto for Orchestra (1943).