Both György Kurtág and Peter Eötvös will be in New York this month as part of the Hungarian Ministry of Culture’s Hungarian Culture Year (“Extremely Hungary”). Carnegie Hall presents two weeks of folk, symphonic, and new music, as well as educational programs performed by today’s most noted Hungarian musicians. Featured highlights of the festival will be three concerts of music by two of Hungary’s greatest living composers.
On January 29 Peter Eötvös will lead Ensemble ACJW in a portrait concert of his music. On the program will be the U.S. premiere performance of Octet Plus (2008) for soprano and wind instruments, featuring a rare U.S. performance by soprano Barbara Hannigan.
The music of György Kurtág will be at the center of the Hungary Festival performances. His Songs to Poems by Anna Akhmatova, Op. 41 will receive its world premiere on January 31 by the UMZE ensemble under the baton of Peter Eötvös. On February 1, in an unprecedented event for New York City, Kurtág and his wife, Márta Kurtág, will perform a full recital of transcriptions and selections from Játékok, Kurtág’s remarkable series of teaching pieces for piano.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQgyyqs4iMQ[/youtube]
I’ve got tix to the concerts on the 31st and 1st! Also FYI: there’s a very nice documentary about Kurtag and Eotvos called “The Matchstick Man.” Findable on Amazon.