(The native form of this personal name is Bartók Béla Viktor János. This article uses the Western name order.) Béla Viktor János Bartók (/ˈbɑːrtɒk/; Hungarian pronunciation: [ˈbeːlɒ ˈbɒrtoːk]; 25 March 1881 – 26 September 1945) was a Hungarian composer and pianist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century; he and Liszt are regarded as Hungary's greatest composers (). Through his collection and analytical study of folk music, he was one of the founders of comparative musicology, which later became ethnomusicology.