Ayoub, Rommel: Arabische Einflüsse im Schaffen Béla Bartóks

The fact that Béla Bartók (1881-1945) was fascinated by Arabic music after several study trips through the Middle East and North Africa cannot be doubted, but on the other hand should not be overestimated. The Jordan-born author of this dissertation proves a qualified expert on the subject, in contrast to previous undoubtedly respectable publications. This dissertation, which was adopted in 2018 by the faculty of philosophy at Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster, aims to intensively question Bartók's work ethnologically and analytically. In particular, against the background that Bartók, despite all his efforts, only achieved a transfer of quartertone intervals and Maqamat modes to the European notation system only to a very limited extend. In addition, the author certainly makes a significant contribution to music-ethnological research. A preliminary introduction to the peculiarities of Arabic music theory proves to be a fundamental source of information in this context.