Kurtág: Complete Works for Ensemble and Choir
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GYORGY KURTAG
Kurtág: Complete Works for Ensemble and Choir
Natalia Zagorinskaya (soprano), Gerrie de Vries (mezzo-soprano), Yves Saelens (ten) / Netherlands Radio Choir / Schoenberg Ensemble, Reinbert de Leeuw
[ ECM New Series / 3 CD ]
Release Date: Saturday 1 July 2017
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Recorded in Amsterdam's Musikgebouw and Haarlem's Philharmonie between March 2013 and July 2016, this 3-CD set is a milestone in the documentation of Hungarian composer György Kurtág's work and also a labour of love. It brings together all of Kurtàg's works for ensemble and for ensemble and choir.
The insightful and precise performances bear witness to extensive preparation by the dedicated Asko/Schoenberg Ensemble. Conductor Reinbert de Leeuw speaks of "learning Kurtág's oeuvre step by step, and performing these pieces repeatedly over a period of twenty years."
De Leeuw consulted extensively with György and Márta Kurtág before and after each session: "There were moments when I was overwhelmed at first hearing", says the famously-demanding Kurtág, "and we could embrace the result immediately. But sometimes we were critical. The fact that Reinbert always listened to our remarks and re-recorded fragments or even whole pieces makes this publication authentic."
Works heard here are presented in chronological order of composition, beginning with the Four Capriccios (1959-1970, rev. 1993) and continuing with Four Songs to Poems by János Pilinszky (1975), Grabstein für Stephan (1978-79, rev. 1989), Messages of the late Miss R. Troussova (1976-80), …quasi una fantasia… (1987-88), Op. 27 No. 2 Double Concerto (1989-90), Samuel Beckett: What is the Word (1991), Songs of Despair and Sorrow (1980-1994), Songs to Poems by Anna Akhmatova (1997-2008), Colinda-Balada (2010), and Brefs Messages (2011).
The extensive CD booklet includes all song texts with translations, an interview with Reinbert de Leeuw, liner notes by Wolfgang Sandner and Paul Griffiths, and a statement by György Kurtág.
"The interpretations are of a consistently elevated standard. Messages of the Late Miss R Troussova, a signature Kurtág score, sets a marker: soprano Natalia Zagorinskaya gives a riveting performance of this expressionist female Winterreise, harnessing Kurtág's shriek-gesang just sufficiently to stop it tipping into caterwauling" BBC Music
"The more spare Kurtág's textures, the more this recording excels - and drops the jaw...The playing here is exquisite...The composer's freedom from the necessity to transition is as musically cleansing as it is communicatively direct, full of tantalising imagery...A proper treasure trove." Gramophone Editor's Choice August 2017
"This magnificent, Netherlands-sourced set brings together some of Kurtág's greatest achievements and is performed with devotional precision and commitment by the ensemble Asko | Schönberg...Kurtág's exquisitely precise music, wasting nothing, demands that attention." The Guardian
"Spareness, that supercharged concision, is ever the Kurtag note - and, as caught by these outstanding musicians, resonates powerfully here." Sunday Times
Tracks:
Capriccios (4) to poems by István Bálint, Op. 9
Songs (4) to Poems by Janos Pilinszky, Op. 11
Grabstein für Stephan Op. 15c
Messages of the Late Miss R.V. Troussova, Op. 17
…quasi una fantasia…op. 27 No. 1
Doppelkonzert, Op. 27 No. 2
What is the word
Songs of Despair and Sorrow, Op 18
Poems (4) by Anna Akhmatova, Op. 41
Colinda-Balada
Bref Message a Pierre Boulez
