Béla Bartók by Kenneth Chalmers (20th Century Composers)

This biography covers the full range of Bela Bartók’s (1881–1945) work from his early explorations of the folklore of Hungary to his Third Piano Concerto composed on his deathbed in the United States. Illustrated throughout with contemporary photographs of people and events, the book brings a reclusive creator strikingly to life, showing inextricable links between his life, his music and the turbulence of two world wars. This biography is essential reading to understand the singular nature of Bartók’s genius and the originality of his contribution to music.

Kenneth Chalmers is an author, translator and composer who has written on Bartók, Berg, Stravinsky, Verdi and Weill, and collaborated on Decca’s 20-volume Mozart Almanac.

Review

‘As a series, Phaidon’s 20th Century Composers has brought remarkable variety and a welter of information, both necessary and delightfully trivial. Intended both for the general reader and for the more enthusiatically musical…’ (The Scotsman)