Béla Bartók (25.3.1881, Sánnicolaul Mare, Rumania - 26.9.1945, New York, USA) - composer, pianist, teacher and ethnomusicologist. From 1892 to 1899 he attended grammar school in Bratislava where his widowed mother Paula, nee Voitova (a native of Martin) had moved. He graduated from the Academy of Music in Budapest and taught there from 1907. In 1940 he emigrated to the USA. His close relationship with folk music and his familiarity with modern trends in the music combined to produce a very distintive style is his work. For Slovak culture it is his work as an ethnomusicologist which is most significant. The Slovak folk song is the most strongly represented in Bartok's collection of folk songs, with 3,409 melodies and 4,000 texts. He also published works devoted entirely to the Slovak folk song (Slovak Folk Songs I and II ) and this genre was a decisive influence on his work. During his repeated stays in Slovakia he composed a number of singificant works, including the Quintet No. 77, the Rhapsody for piano Op. 1 and the Dance Suite.