Hungary: May 2006 Report
Kurtág 80: A Festival for György Kurtág's 80th Birthday
Outstanding Hungarian composer György Kurtág celebrated his 80th birthday on 19 February 2006. To honour the occasion Budapest Music Center greeted the maestro with a 5-day festival on 15-19 February 2006 in Budapest, with the participation of significant Hungarian and international artists. The festival program included concerts, a dance production, an exhibition and professional programs.
Well-known pieces by György Kurtág were presented in concerts, including Kafka Fragments, Games and Trussova. Hipartita, Op. 43, was performed at the Kurtág 80 Festival for the first time in Hungary, as well as the composer's latest string quartet. Performers featured included such renowned Hungarian musicians as András Keller and the Keller Quartet, Miklós Perényi, Zoltán Kocsis, the Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir, Gábor Csalog, András Kemenes, and the UMZE Ensemble, as well as international artists such as Andrea Pestalozza, Maria Husmann, Juliane Banse and Hiromi Kikuchi who are all internationally-recognized interpreters of Kurtág. The Kurtág family also participated in the festival. Mrs. Márta Kurtág and György Kurtág, Jr. appeared on stage together; and photos and video-installations by Judit Kurtág were exhibited.
Documentary films on Kurtág were screened during the festival week at the BMC's Hungarian Music Pavilion. A dance production, Orpheus, inspired by Kurtág's music, featuring Andrea Ladányi, and choreographed by Csaba Horváth, was also presented in a performance featuring the ensemble Lux Nox, whose founding member is György Kurtág, Jr. Additionally, an international symposium on György Kurtág and his art and pedagogy took place on 16-18 February. Lectures were given by well-known professors of Hungarian contemporary music, such as András Wilheim, Zoltán Farkas and Péter Halász. As part of the symposium a master course was held by maestro Kurtág, with the participation of violinist András Keller, pianist Gábor Csalog and other musicians.
Adrienne Mankovits
BMC Hungarian Music Information Center
mankovits@bmc.hu
