Béla Bartók: Folk Music

Malcolm Gillies and Esa-Pekka Salonen investigate Bartók's role as an ethnomusicologist; how he collected and notated folk music and how this inspired the music he wrote for the concert hall.

Malcolm Gillies meets Hungarian Folk ensemble Muzsikás, and Esa-Pekka Salonen travels to the Columbia University archives in New York where Bartók collated many of his field recordings and transcriptions in the 1940's.

This film accompanied the Philharmonia Orchestra's 'Infernal Dance' series exploring the life, influences and music of Béla Bartók.

You can watch the rest of our videos featuring string instruments here:    • String Instruments (Philharmonia Orch...