From the Village to the Concert Hall: Béla Bartók

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One of the great composers of the early 20th century, Béla Bartók was also one of the founders of the field of ethnomusicology. Bartók collected folk music from Slovakia, Transylvania and his native Hungary, lugging an Edison phonograph across the fields and persuading local peasants to sing into the horn so that he could record their voices.

Peter Laki, a musicologist and editor of the book Bartók and his World, discusses the influence of Eastern European folk songs on the composer.

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