Dénes Várjon, Izabella Simon piano four hands
Kurtág 100
Dénes Várjon / Izabella Simon
© Labady Istvan
Sala 1
Past event
19 February 2026
20:00
Kurtág 100
Dénes Várjon / Izabella Simon
© Labady Istvan
Sala 1
Past event
19 February 2026
20:00
Robert Schumann
Bilder aus Osten, Op. 66
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750)
Chorale Preludes for Organ, BWV 651–668 (transcription for piano four hands by György Kurtág – excerpts)
***
György Kurtág (1926–2024)
Játékok (Games) for piano four hands (excerpts)
Béla Bartók (1881–1945)
Andante tranquillo from Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta Sz. 106, BB 114 (transcription for piano four hands)
Claude Debussy (1862–1918)
Petite Suite for piano four hands, L65
On the centenary of György Kurtág's birth, a four-handed recital celebrates the Hungarian composer and the authors who most influenced his musical aesthetic: Bach, Debussy and Bartók. Each work in the programme reflects a facet of his poetics, between minimalism and expressive density. The interpretation by Dénes Várjon and Izabella Simon, leading pianists in the 20th-century repertoire, conveys the depth and intensity of these extraordinary compositions.
Not just a celebration of Kurtág on the exact day of his 100th birthday, this concert also offers a reflection on his connection with tradition. The evening opens with Claude Debussy's En blanc et noir, a piece that plays on the tension between lyricism and percussiveness. This is followed by Kurtág's transcriptions of Bach's Chorale Preludes, which amplify the meditative dimension of the work, some excerpts from Játékok (the piano cycle that Kurtág developed over decades) and the piano transcription of the first movement of Béla Bartók's Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta, a constant source of inspiration for Kurtág himself. The concert concludes with Debussy's Petite suite, influenced by Rameau and oriental suggestions. Thanks to their deep understanding of the composer's language, Dénes Várjon – who was a direct pupil of Kurtág – and Izabella Simon bring all the depth and intensity of this programme to the stage.
Duration
1h05'