György Kurtág keeps tirelessly composing even at the age of 95: he continuously enriches his beloved genre, the series of piano pieces of Games, collected in ten volumes so far – also last year with a dozen of new works.
For Musikfest Berlin, Pierre-Laurent Aimard, the composer’s loyal performer, has compiled a series of more than thirty Kurtág miniatures, including six previously unveiled compositions to be premiered on September 11 at the Chamber Hall of Philharmonie.
These pieces, as so often with Kurtág, are mostly personal messages, commemorations of family members or friends who have left forever, or just encouragement, sometimes a cheerful wink at those still among us. But traces of the past are also omnipresent in György Kurtág’s piano cosmos. In his miniatures, music history is unleashed, every impression leaving traces. If you like, you can discover an entire web of references in them – or abandon yourself to the enchanting poetry of these enigmatic "games", an ever-growing body of piano pieces.

Photo: György and Márta Kurtág, Pierre-Laurent Aimard, 2016 Budapest