Chamber Music Birthday Tribute to György Kurtág Presented by Liszt Academy

The Liszt Academy celebrates the birthday of György Kurtág, one of the greatest living composers, with a special concert showcasing a rich selection of his works performed by the university’s students and faculty members. The evening opens with virtuosic and intellectually charged Transcriptions from Machaut to J. S. Bach, blending the sound world of the late Middle Ages with the traditions of Baroque chorales. It continues with aphoristic miniatures from Games for Piano, originally conceived as pedagogical pieces but long since recognized as Kurtág’s intimate musical diary. Excerpts from Signs, Games and Messages for string trio – a deeply personal collection of gestures and reflections – will also be performed. The concert places special emphasis on the cimbalom, as a contemporary musical figure: following the solo work Splinters, the program also features his early work, Eight Duos for Violin and Cimbalom – a rare chamber pairing that highlights the dialogue between the two instruments. The program concludes with one of Kurtág’s late, lyrical chamber works, The Ligatura of Bálint Varga.