Commissioned by Black Dyke, the work was given its premiere at the RNCM Festival of Brass in January 2014. It is inspired by the life, work, political and social conscience of Bela Bartok, a composer inextricably linked with the land of his birth, Hungary.

Simon Dobson's work captures the complex emotional core of the composer - from the carefree days of youth with fellow composer Zoltan Kodaly as they embark on recording the ethnic music of the Balkans to the isolated days in America and the dark jazz nightclubs of New York which he often visited. Finally comes the last chapter of a complex life - and his rage at the fascist state under Nazi control. He longs for a return to the simpler times of his youth as his maturity as a composer reaches its fulfilment.

The work has three connected sections:

1. Capturing the Peasant's Songs
2. Night Music
3. Fight or Flight