This book is the first comprehensive biographical study of Bartok as man, composer, and folklorist, including the background and development of his unique musical language and the impact of his pioneering investigations of multinational musical folklore on his composed works. His career as an outstanding pianist, connections with contemporaries in the world of music, and the socio-economic factors that affected his creative and scholarly activities are also included among other hitherto unexplored aspects of his life and times.