Béla Bartók was born in Hungary when it was a Kingdom within the Empire of Austria-Hungary. He displayed precocious musical talent. He is said to have been able to play 40 tunes on the piano by the time he turned four years old. From 1899 to 1903 he studied under István Thomán, who was himself a... More information former student of Franz Liszt.

Bartók’s notable works include an opera, Duke Bluebeard’s Castle (1911), based on the classic fairy tale by Charles Perrault about a bride whose curiosity impels her to unlock the door to a forbidden room. Bartók and his librettist, BélaBalázs, took liberties with Perrault’s tale, giving it a psychoanalytic flavor.

Bartók also wrote two ballets, The Wooden Prince and The Miraculous Mandarin, and several string quartets. His influences include Liszt, Wagner, Strauss, Debussy, and the traditions of the Hungarian folk song. In fact, his self-conscious effort to synthesize the canonical musical heritage with that of folk songs often ignored by the hghbrows constitutes an important part of his own legacy. Less information