Béla Bartók (1881–1945) was one of the world’s most influential composers and innovators of the 20th century. In addition to his own compositions, he researched and recorded folk songs from various parts of the world. From the territory of present-day Slovakia (Gemer, Pohronie, and other regions), he collected more than 3,000 songs and arranged them systematically into three volumes. He worked as a composer, pianist, and music teacher, as well as an ethnomusicologist and musical event organiser. In 1940, he emigrated from Hungary due to the rise of fascism. He died in New York in 1945; his remains were later transferred to Budapest.  

Following their father’s untimely death, Bartók and his sister were raised by their mother Paula (née Voit), born in Turčiansky Svätý Martin. They moved together to Bratislava in 1892. At that time, the eleven-year-old Béla began studying at the Royal Catholic Grammar School, and he also played his first piano concerts in the city. The commemorative plaque is mounted on the Classicist façade of a complex comprising the Church and Hospital of St. Ladislav on Špitálska Street, which was built according to a design by Ignác Feigler Sr. The Bartók family lived in the right wing of the building, next to St. Ladislav Church, from 1894 to 1908. The plaque was ceremonially unveiled on 17 April 1971. Its central motif is a relief portrait of the composer carved into reddish stone. His realistically rendered, finely sculpted face projects from the rough stone surface, creating a striking contrast. Below the portrait is a barely legible carved inscription. The commemorative plaque also features a bracket for holding a wreath. 

A further plaque commemorating Béla Bartók is mounted on the former monastery building on Klariská Street, the location of the Royal Catholic Grammar School at which he studied. It was designed by Dušan Kuzma. 

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Research status as of 30. 04. 2024.