Bartok formed his compositional style from a synthesis of the folk music of Hungary and its neighbouring countries, and the art music of Western and Central Europe. This book provides an analysis of two of Bartok's early piano works: The Ten Easy Pieces and the Allegro Barbaro to illustrate the extent of these influences. It also examines the relevance of Bartok's musical training, and the influence of Nationalsim and Politics on the formation of his musical language. Bartoks's performances of his works often differ immensely from the written score. The so called "sound world" of Hungarian...