Through sheer willpower and a zest for life, he perfected his piano skills.Continue reading
On the occasion of his 98th birthday, György Kurtág, Kossuth Prize-winning Hungarian composer and pianist, will be celebrated with a concert inspired by folk music on February 19 at the Budapest Music Center (BMC): the music of his childhood will be recalled with the help of two ensembles.
The concert will feature Miklós Lukács on cimbalom, Balázs Szokolay “Dongó” on flute and saxophone, and the folk ensemble Zvoane Bănățene, according to the BMC’s statement.
It is said that György Kurtág’s musical thinking is shaped not only by his profound knowledge of the classical music tradition, but also by his familiarity with Hungarian and Romanian folk music.
Kurtág was exposed to folk melodies as a child in his immediate environment, and during his studies he absorbed them through the works of composers Béla Bartók and György Ligeti.
Folk music as a source of inspiration often appears in Kurtág’s pieces in the form of blurred fragments.
The concert will feature Miklós Lukács and Balázs Szokolay “Dongó” performing excerpts from Béla Bartók’s works and folk music collections – including Romanian Folk Dances – but will also include folk melodies from Ghimeș (Gyimes, Romania) and western Moldavia (Romania), as well as the two artists’ own folk-inspired compositions and improvisations.
The second half of the concert will feature the Zvoane Bănățene ensemble, whose singers and instrumentalists are at home in folk music from all ethnographic regions of Romania. The concert will present folk tunes from Banat (divided between Hungary, Romania, and Serbia), Oltenia, Transylvania, Biharia (all three in Romania) and folk music collections from the 1930s to 1980s.
Via MTI; Featured image via Facebook/BMC – Budapest Music Center