György Kurtág: Scenes

Featuring

Viktoriia Vitrenko
David Grimal
Luigi Gaggero
Niek de Groot
György Kurtág

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Compositional Technique

Kurtág's music often expresses profound meaning through short compositions, gestures, splinters, and fragments, akin to the poetic illuminations of a Japanese haiku.

Composition History

The 'Sudelbücher' (Scrapbooks) on lyrics by German satirist Georg Christoph Lichtenberg were inspired by Wolf Lepenies, who gave Kurtág a volume of Lichtenberg's aphorisms.

Composer's Artistic Vision

György Kurtág describes his compositional approach with the phrase: "Something happens, and it is answered," highlighting the dialogical structure of his music.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Kurtág finds his unique voice by continuing musical tradition, rather than breaking with it, and maintains a dialogue with composers like Bartók and Beethoven.

Performer Biography

Luigi Gaggero, the cimbalom player on this album, has dedicated 20 years to developing new playing techniques for the instrument, significantly broadening its repertoire.

Instruments

Niek de Groot, the double bassist, has the lifelong privilege of playing the world-famous Domenico Montagnana double bass from 1747.

Instruments

The 8 Duos for Violin and Cimbalom, Op. 4 mark Kurtág's first use of the cimbalom, a traditional Hungarian instrument, which he sees as a "bridge" to Hungarian and Bartók's music.