Bartóks

Bartóks refers to the Bartók family, a Hungarian surname. The name is most commonly associated with the composer and ethnomusicologist Béla Bartók (1881–1945), whose work helped redefine 20th‑century classical music through the integration of Central European folk music with modernist techniques.

Born in Nagyszentmiklós (now Sânnicolau Mare in Romania), Bartók studied at the Royal Academy of Music in Budapest and later collaborated closely with Zoltán Kodály. His music draws on folk melodies and rhythms gathered across Hungary and neighboring regions, and his six string quartets, the Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta, and the six sonatas for various instruments remain central to the modern repertoire. He emigrated to the United States in 1940 and continued composing and researching folk music until his death in New York City in 1945.

Outside of Béla Bartók, the surname is borne by other individuals and families in Hungary and among the Hungarian diaspora. In English-language texts, Bartók is often rendered as Bartok, with the acute accent on the o sometimes omitted.

Bartók's legacy extends beyond concert music; his fieldwork and methodological approach influenced ethnomusicology and musicology, and his works continue to be widely performed and studied worldwide.