In 1973, Kurtág began an ongoing project of writing volumes of imaginative and experimental miniatures inspired by children’s innocent approach to piano playing – hence the title: Játékok (Games).The set of selected pieces performed here begins with “Hommage à Schubert,” a serene piece that befittingly bridges Schubert’s G-flat impromptu and other works by Kurtág.Next, “Fanfare,” is an energetic piece in the style of his compatriot Bartók.In “Play with Infinity,” the pianist practically plays every single note on the keyboard in a hushed descending chromatic scale accompanied by interruptive splashes of colors.This atmospheric vignette is followed by the bright sounds of “Capriccioso-luminoso”, and the set concludes with the dark piece “Kondor Rock,” composed in the manner of the aging Liszt.Wayne Weng
Classical Music | Piano Music
György Kurtág
Hommage à Schubert, from Játékok Play
Recorded on 07/30/2014, uploaded on 12/10/2014
Musician's or Publisher's Notes
In 1973, Kurtág began an ongoing project of writing volumes of imaginative and experimental miniatures inspired by children’s innocent approach to piano playing – hence the title: Játékok (Games). The set of selected pieces performed here begins with “Hommage à Schubert,” a serene piece that befittingly bridges Schubert’s G-flat impromptu and other works by Kurtág. Next, “Fanfare,” is an energetic piece in the style of his compatriot Bartók. In “Play with Infinity,” the pianist practically plays every single note on the keyboard in a hushed descending chromatic scale accompanied by interruptive splashes of colors. This atmospheric vignette is followed by the bright sounds of “Capriccioso-luminoso”, and the set concludes with the dark piece “Kondor Rock,” composed in the manner of the aging Liszt. Wayne Weng
More music by György Kurtág
Petite musique solennelle en hommage a Pierre Boulez
... feuilles mortes ...
Perpetuum Mobile
...concertante...
String Quartet Op. 28 Officium Breve in memoriam Andreae Szervánszky
...quasi una fantasia..., Op. 27
Signs I, Signs II and Hommage á John Cage, from Signs, Games, and Messages
Eight Piano Pieces, Op. 3
In Nomine – all’ ongherese and A Flower for Dénes Zsigmondy, from Signs, Games, and Messages
Perpetuum mobile, Plaintive Tune, and Chromatically Saucy, from Signs, Games, and Messages
Performances by same musician(s)
Moment musicaux, D. 780 No. 4
Impromptu Op. 90 No. 3 in G-flat Major, D. 899
Impromptu Op. 90 No. 1 in c minor, D. 899
Fanfares, from Játékok
Capriccioso-luminoso, from Játékok
Play with Infinity, from Játékok
Kondor Rock (In the Manner of the Aging Liszt), from Játékok
Après une Lecture de Dante
Moment musicaux, D. 780 No. 1
Moment musicaux, D. 780 No. 2
Classical Music for the Internet Era™
Courtesy of International Music Foundation.