Articles tagged 'Kurtág'

Piano Factory 15: Micro and Macro

Here are nine renditions of ten Holt’s most famous opus. Built from multi-measure cells which can be repeated ad lib, this may be the longest work constructed on an unbroken stream of quintuplets. It is also a potent dose of B-flat minor.

Piano Factory 15: Micro and Macro

Here are nine renditions of ten Holt’s most famous opus. Built from multi-measure cells which can be repeated ad lib, this may be the longest work constructed on an unbroken stream of quintuplets. It is also a potent dose of B-flat minor.

Atopos Survey 3.

We come to a third and final installment in a survey of Atopos recordings. It’s not that I’ve saved the best for last, but rarities, yes. Any recordings of Vinko Globokar and Jean-Pierre Drouet, whether together or separate, are a reason to celebrate.

Atopos Survey 3.

We come to a third and final installment in a survey of Atopos recordings. It’s not that I’ve saved the best for last, but rarities, yes. Any recordings of Vinko Globokar and Jean-Pierre Drouet, whether together or separate, are a reason to celebrate.

Hungarian Holiday 3.

Intended as comic contrast to Bartók’s Bluebeard’s Castle, Vajda’s 30-minute Barbie Blue gives the woman the upper hand. Seven scenes echo Bartók’s seven doors as Mrs. Blue lurches through different emotional states after her husband returns home inopportunely.

Hungarian Holiday 3.

Intended as comic contrast to Bartók’s Bluebeard’s Castle, Vajda’s 30-minute Barbie Blue gives the woman the upper hand. Seven scenes echo Bartók’s seven doors as Mrs. Blue lurches through different emotional states after her husband returns home inopportunely.

Armchair Operas 8.

A week spent in Stockholm put me near the Raoul Wallenberg memorial, sited within view of the capitol’s water and synagogue. Easy to miss at first, the granite sphere soon becomes a landmark.

Armchair Operas 8.

A week spent in Stockholm put me near the Raoul Wallenberg memorial, sited within view of the capitol’s water and synagogue. Easy to miss at first, the granite sphere soon becomes a landmark.

String Theory 10: 23 Quartets, etc.

Schnittke’s four make a mismatched family.

String Theory 10: 23 Quartets, etc.

Schnittke’s four make a mismatched family.

Solos and Underdogs

Low, breathy woodwind timbres are among my favorites (there’s a great passage in the first movement of Mahler’s Ninth), and the two double concertos offer ample room for dexterity and color.

Solos and Underdogs

Low, breathy woodwind timbres are among my favorites (there’s a great passage in the first movement of Mahler’s Ninth), and the two double concertos offer ample room for dexterity and color.

Kurtág’s Játékok, et al.: Hungarian Holiday 2.

As the years have gone by, Játékok (seven published volumes with at least two, possibly others, in preparation) has come to express Kurtág’s worldview through homages, in memoriams, calling cards and birthday greetings.

Kurtág’s Játékok, et al.: Hungarian Holiday 2.

As the years have gone by, Játékok (seven published volumes with at least two, possibly others, in preparation) has come to express Kurtág’s worldview through homages, in memoriams, calling cards and birthday greetings.

Dowland Our Contemporary: String Quartets

With detours, these days I go straight from the 1620s (deaths of Byrd, Gibbons, Dowland and Bull) to the modern era…

Dowland Our Contemporary: String Quartets

With detours, these days I go straight from the 1620s (deaths of Byrd, Gibbons, Dowland and Bull) to the modern era…

Kurtág in New York, Me in Michigan

The Kurtágs made their long-awaited New York début early last month as part of a two-night Hungarian focus at Carnegie Hall, a bold move made possible by the Hungarian Cultural Center.

Kurtág in New York, Me in Michigan

The Kurtágs made their long-awaited New York début early last month as part of a two-night Hungarian focus at Carnegie Hall, a bold move made possible by the Hungarian Cultural Center.

Piano Factory 3.

Upon consideration, Fray’s programming makes sense: Both composers, lording over their respective periods, required and require subsequent generations to instigate new styles and techniques.

Piano Factory 3.

Upon consideration, Fray’s programming makes sense: Both composers, lording over their respective periods, required and require subsequent generations to instigate new styles and techniques.

Ferneyhough & Stockhausen: Grubby and Gruppen

Compared to his previous compositions, Ferneyhough’s Shadowtime is easy going. It’s almost as if his California tenure exposed him too thoroughly to Desperate Housewives and American Idol.

Ferneyhough & Stockhausen: Grubby and Gruppen

Compared to his previous compositions, Ferneyhough’s Shadowtime is easy going. It’s almost as if his California tenure exposed him too thoroughly to Desperate Housewives and American Idol.

A Surprise in ‘Most Every Box

Produced in conjunction with a 1999 Swiss Mariétan exposition, this obscure 1998 Terra Ignota CD documents several installations and projects.

A Surprise in ‘Most Every Box

Produced in conjunction with a 1999 Swiss Mariétan exposition, this obscure 1998 Terra Ignota CD documents several installations and projects.