Pages: 9-25

Abstract

Bela Bartok is one of the most influential composers of the twentieth century whose works have been attended by many theorists. Among the most prominent musical theorists focusing on Bartok's works, Erno Lendvai, Jonas Karpati, Burno Nettl, and Milton Babbitt can be mentioned. These scholars have offered great theories by studying hidden, melodic and harmonic relations, and formal structures in the Bartok’s composition. The breadth of Bartok's works, diversity in using pitch organization, and lack of Bartok's personal views on analyzing his works, encouraged theorists to study his work more. The reason for focusing on Bartok in this research can be attributed to his prominent state as a composer in the twentieth century, as well as the way he employs folk melodies as the main component of composing structure. By focusing on tonal aspects, pitch organization, chord relations, and harmonic structures, this study deals with melodic lines and formal principles, and then dissects the theories and indicators in accordance with the mentioned theorists’ views.