Kurtág – Ligeti Presented by Liszt Academy

It is almost certain that the names of György Ligeti and György Kurtág will be conjoined in the music history collective memory of the future in the same way as the ‘exemplary great twins’ Bartók and Kodály. Works by these two giants of 20th-century and contemporary Hungarian composition are placed alongside each other in this programme, the performance quality of which is guaranteed by the experienced András Keller and Zoltán Rácz. The recital, which showcases superb works from the oeuvres of both masters, features Keller Quartet and the recently founded Ligeti Ensemble, alongside the cimbalom player András Szalai, two sopranos, Andrea Brassói-Jőrös and Tony Arnold. From Ligeti’s creative mind we receive the String Quartet No. 1, written in Budapest in 1953–54, and the micropolyphonic Kammerkonzert, dating from 15 years later, which perfectly illustrates his experimental nature. Two days following this concert, György Kurtág celebrates his 93rd birthday; from his oeuvre, the concert organizers have picked two song cycles, S.K. Remembrance Noise (1975), inspired by Dezső Tandori poems, and Four Akhmatova Poems (1997–2008), as well as the chamber music pieces from the early and the late period of the composer.