What do you think about Bartok?

Question

Many people i have met say he's a horrible composer & his music is not good at all. I haven't really listened to his music so i can't judge. What do you think of him?

Answer 1

Personally Bartòk isn't one of my favorite. I have some of his works in my collection, do respect him and those who like him and at the same time I find it inappropriate in general to charge on those who express an opinion other than ours.
Nastier than the above, I have to say that to the best of my knowledge, symphony Mathis der Maler (without h) was written by Paul Hindemith somewhere in the 30's. That neither is in my favs.
One thing I admire in Bela Bartòk is, despite his poverty and poor health, he always refused offers to teach composition, saying composition cannot be taught.

Answer 2

I don't think Bartok is a bad composer at all. I do not listen to my Bartok CDs when I want to relax, though. I find most of his music requires concentration to appreciate what's going on.

His piano concertos are very exciting, and I love the way he uses the piano. His violin concerto is a tougher nut to crack, but still enjoyable. The Concerto for Orchestra is probably his Greatest Hit. It has a lot of variety in it. (It also includes an "inside joke," when he sarcastically spoofs a Shostakovich melody (which Dmitri himself "adapted" from The Merry Widow)--it's one of the few moments in orchestral music that makes me laugh out loud every time I hear it.)

Taste in music is an individual thing, but I think Bartok is accessible enough for anyone to enjoy, although his works are less melodic than composers before him.

Answer 3

He's really an inspiring guy. When he was younger, he was an amazing concert pianist who toured all over the world. In addition to playing pieces he wrote himself, he also made his own arrangement for solo piano of Richard Strauss' "Ein Heldenleben", a HUGE 30-minute-plus symphonic work. Doing this demonstrated a marvelous enthusiasm and unselfish advocacy for a 'rival' composer.

Then he got really into folk music from his native Hungary, and went from village to village in the EARLY days of sound recording, and made recordings of regular people singing traditional songs which had been passed down orally for generations (we suppose). Bartok had a good enough musical ear that he could write down in musical notation what was sung on the recordings.

Bartok demonstrated amazing enthusiasm for Hungarian folk music. He went to the trouble of seeing to the publication of these songs (that's a lot of work!) and spent years writing pieces for orchestra, string quartet, piano--whatever--that was heavily influenced by the folk songs. And you can really hear the connection.

Another cool thing about Hungarian music (and Bulgarian, which he also studied) that Bartok just loved was the dance rhythms. Instead of songs in regular patterns of 2 or 4 beats, he discovered folk dances in complicated patterns of 5 (Chucka-CHUNGanah), 7 (Chucka-Chucka-CHUNGanah), or 9 beats (Chucka-Chucka-Chucka-CHUNGanah), about which he was so gaga that he could hardly keep from using these rhythms in his own works.

And this was in the 30s, so he predates a lot of other composers and artists who have used such complex meters, even Dave Brubeck (:-).

Others have already listed his most famous works. Where I'd suggest to start would depend on how much classical music you already listen to.

By the way, in the 50s, opinion was that the greatest living composers following Stravinsky were Bartok and Hindemith. We don't hear too much about Hindemith any more, but 50 years later, people are still playing Bartok all the time.

Answer 4

A lot of people, whose opinions I respect gravely, dislike Bartok. I am not that sort of person; I am a casual enjoyer. Is that a word?

Well anyway, many people feel diffident about Bartok who are not hacks by any means. One of them is my beloved's teacher from NEC, and longtime semi-friendly rival of Itzhak Perlman. James beat him out for ownership of a particular Strad, for instance. He knows that he should apperciate Bartok and why, but doesn't exactly have him on a rolodex for fun favorites.

Personally, I like it but I know I'm not connecting with it. But I like it.

Answer 5

well, those who told you Bartok's work is horrible only deserve to hear bubble gum pops. Bartok had extraordinary sense of hearing therefore he was able to create extremely unique(maybe not pretty, but when is classical music all about prettiness?), sometimes other-worldly, and sometimes jolting sounds in his music. He was also an expert of the folk music of central, eastern Europe and northern Africa therefore you hear very heavy influence from these folk sources in his music. There's certain earthiness to his music that has kept my interest in his work.

To say that he is one of the composers in the 20th century
who made music that shook our souls, is a mild statement.
If you are interested in the full spectrum of classical music, Bartok's work is a must.

Answer 6

Bartok is awesome! His music is different from say, Mozart, but it's still really fun to listen to.

Answer 7

Bartok is a great Hungarian composer, pianist and piano teacher. He collected Eastern European and Middle Eastern folk songs and melodies. Therefore, his music is specific. Nevertheless, a lot of his works, especially piano, are really interesting and original. His music is a music of his time, 20th century. Nothing wonderful. He didn't live in Mozart period and he was only 16 y.o. when Brahms died.

Answer 8

Those people you've met are idiots. Bartok was great. It's one thing not to like a certain composer, but that's a far cry from thinking the composer is "horrible." Those are two different things.

His string quartets blew me away when I first heard them. I think it was my first exposure to 20th-century music, and I was hooked.

Answer 9

Those people you met have, in the words of Charles Ives, "sissy ears". To say he is a bad composer flies in the face of main stream musical opinion. These folks would be more accurate to say that they don't like his music -- can't argue with some one's peronal taste. But he is regarded generally as one the greats.

I personally love the music of Bartok. Especially: 3rd piano concerto, Music for Strings, Percussion and Celeste, Sonata for Two Pianos, Concerto for Orchestra, From the Diary of a Fly -- I could go on and on.

Since he died in 1945, he can hardly be regarded any more as "modern" or "avant gard".

Answer 10

Fantastic music. His "Concerto for Orchestra", "Music for Strings Percussion & Celesta" and the string quartets are landmarks of the last century. Great piano music, too - concertos & sonatas. "Bluebeard's Castle" is a scintillating one-act opera. Like Stravinsky, Bartok studied the folk music of his country and incorporated it into his highly advanced modern music. Do not, under any circumstances, count him out without at least giving a listen to the above. You might try starting with this wonderful recording: http://www.amazon.com/Bart%C3%B3k-Concerto-Orchestra-Percussion-Hungarian/dp/B000003FEJ/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/104-2225915-9635946?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1184266648&sr=8-1