Asko/Schönberg – Asko/Schönberg : György Kurtág: Complete Works For Ensemble And Choir (2017)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 02:30:35 minutes | 2,31 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Digital Booklet, Front Cover | © ECM New Series
Recorded in Amsterdam’s Musikgebouw and Haarlem’s Philharmonie between March 2013 and July 2016, this triple-album set is a milestone in the documentation of Hungarian composer György Kurtág’s work and also a labour of love. It brings together all of Kurtàg’s works for ensemble and for ensemble and choir.
The insightful and precise performances bear witness to extensive preparation by the dedicated Asko/Schoenberg Ensemble. Conductor Reinbert de Leeuw speaks of “learning Kurtág’s oeuvre step by step, and performing these pieces repeatedly over a period of twenty years.”
De Leeuw consulted extensively with György and Márta Kurtág before and after each session: “There were moments when I was overwhelmed at first hearing”, says the famously-demanding Kurtág, “and we could embrace the result immediately. But sometimes we were critical. The fact that Reinbert always listened to our remarks and re-recorded fragments or even whole pieces makes this publication authentic.”
Works heard here are presented in chronological order of composition, beginning with the Four Capriccios (1959-1970, rev. 1993) and continuing with Four Songs to Poems by János Pilinszky (1975), Grabstein für Stephan (1978-79, rev. 1989), Messages of the late Miss R. Troussova (1976-80), ?quasi una fantasia? (1987-88), Op. 27 No. 2 Double Concerto (1989-90), Samuel Beckett: What is the Word (1991), Songs of Despair and Sorrow (1980-1994), Songs to Poems by Anna Akhmatova (1997-2008), Colinda-Balada (2010), and Brefs Messages (2011).
The extensive album booklet includes all song texts with translations, an interview with Reinbert de Leeuw, liner notes by Wolfgang Sandner and Paul Griffiths, and a statement by György Kurtág.
Tracklist:
György Kurtág (b.1926)
1 Four Capriccios, Op. 9: I. Párizs I – Musée de Cluny: La Dame à la Licorne 01:36
2 Four Capriccios, Op. 9: II. Párizs II – Tour Saint-Jacques 02:34
3 Four Capriccios, Op. 9: III. Nyelvlecke (Language Lesson) 01:48
4 Four Capriccios, Op. 9: IV. Ars poetica 02:39
5 Four Songs to Poems by János Pilinszky, Op. 11: I. Alkohol 02:56
6 Four Songs to Poems by János Pilinszky, Op. 11: II. In Memoriam F.M. Dosztojevszkij 01:24
7 Four Songs to Poems by János Pilinszky, Op. 11: III. Hölderlin 00:42
8 Four Songs to Poems by János Pilinszky, Op. 11: IV. Verés 02:57
9 Grabstein für Stephan, Op. 15c 09:17
10 Messages of the Late Miss R. Troussova, Op. 17, Pt. 1, Loneliness: I. In a Space Of… 01:46
11 Messages of the Late Miss R. Troussova, Op. 17, Pt. 1, Loneliness: II. The Day Has Fallen… 02:32
12 Messages of the Late Miss R. Troussova, Op. 17, Pt. 2, A Little Erotic: I. Heat 01:44
13 Messages of the Late Miss R. Troussova, Op. 17, Pt. 2, A Little Erotic: II. Two Interlaced Bodies… 03:17
14 Messages of the Late Miss R. Troussova, Op. 17, Pt. 2, A Little Erotic: III. Why Should I Not Squeal Like a Pig… 00:41
15 Messages of the Late Miss R. Troussova, Op. 17, Pt. 2, A Little Erotic: IV. Chastushka 01:15
16 Messages of the Late Miss R. Troussova, Op. 17, Pt. 3, Bitter Experience – Delight and Grief: I. You Took My Heart… 01:36
17 Messages of the Late Miss R. Troussova, Op. 17, Pt. 3, Bitter Experience – Delight and Grief: II. Great Misery… 01:18
18 Messages of the Late Miss R. Troussova, Op. 17, Pt. 3, Bitter Experience – Delight and Grief: III. Pebbles 00:55
19 Messages of the Late Miss R. Troussova, Op. 17, Pt. 3, Bitter Experience – Delight and Grief: IV. A Slender Needle 00:49
20 Messages of the Late Miss R. Troussova, Op. 17, Pt. 3, Bitter Experience – Delight and Grief: V. Know, My Loved One… 00:54
21 Messages of the Late Miss R. Troussova, Op. 17, Pt. 3, Bitter Experience – Delight and Grief: VI. Autumn Flowers Fading… 01:35
22 Messages of the Late Miss R. Troussova, Op. 17, Pt. 3, Bitter Experience – Delight and Grief: VII. In You I Seek My Salvation… 00:33
23 Messages of the Late Miss R. Troussova, Op. 17, Pt. 3, Bitter Experience – Delight and Grief: VIII. Your Disappearances… 01:03
24 Messages of the Late Miss R. Troussova, Op. 17, Pt. 3, Bitter Experience – Delight and Grief: IX. Without You 00:22
25 Messages of the Late Miss R. Troussova, Op. 17, Pt. 3, Bitter Experience – Delight and Grief: X. Love Me… 00:43
26 Messages of the Late Miss R. Troussova, Op. 17, Pt. 3, Bitter Experience – Delight and Grief: XI. Retailiation 00:40
27 Messages of the Late Miss R. Troussova, Op. 17, Pt. 3, Bitter Experience – Delight and Grief: XII. A Plaything 00:57
28 Messages of the Late Miss R. Troussova, Op. 17, Pt. 3, Bitter Experience – Delight and Grief: XIII. Why Did You Utter… 00:33
29 Messages of the Late Miss R. Troussova, Op. 17, Pt. 3, Bitter Experience – Delight and Grief: XIV. In the Cloudburst… 00:43
30 Messages of the Late Miss R. Troussova, Op. 17, Pt. 3, Bitter Experience – Delight and Grief: XV. For Everything… (Epilogue) 01:16
31 …quasi una fantasia… Op. 27, No.1: I. Introduzione 01:51
32 …quasi una fantasia… Op. 27, No.1: II. Presto minaccioso e lamentoso (Wie ein Traumeswirren). Molto agitato, sempre pppp 01:32
33 …quasi una fantasia… Op. 27, No.1: III. Recitativo. Grave, disperato 01:50
34 …quasi una fantasia… Op. 27, No.1: IV. Aria – Adagio molto. Lontano, clamo, appena sentito 03:46
35 Op. 27 No. 2 – Double Concerto: I. Poco allegretto – L’istesso tempo (Quasi più mosso) – Presto agitato 10:50
36 Op. 27 No. 2 – Double Concerto: II. Adagio – Largo 07:09
37 Samuel Beckett: What Is the Word, Op. 30b 16:21
38 Songs of Despair and Sorrow, Op. 18: I. So Weary, so Wretched… 03:24
39 Songs of Despair and Sorrow, Op. 18: II. Night, an Empty Street, a Lamp, a Drug-Store 06:13
40 Songs of Despair and Sorrow, Op. 18: III. Blue Evening 01:38
41 Songs of Despair and Sorrow, Op. 18: IV. Where Can I Go to in This January? 02:33
42 Songs of Despair and Sorrow, Op. 18: V. Crucifixion 02:50
43 Songs of Despair and Sorrow, Op. 18: VI. It’s Time 02:48
44 Songs to Poems by Anna Akhmatova, Op. 41: I. Pushkin 01:30
45 Songs to Poems by Anna Akhmatova, Op. 41: II. To Aleksandr Blok 02:49
46 Songs to Poems by Anna Akhmatova, Op. 41: III. Dirge – Alexander Blok’s Funeral 03:34
47 Songs to Poems by Anna Akhmatova, Op. 41: IV. Voronezh – To O. M(Andelstam) 03:35
48 Colindă-Baladă, Op. 46 17:15
49 Brefs Messages, Op. 47: I. Fanfare 01:11
50 Brefs Messages, Op. 47: II. Versetto. Temptavit Deus Abraham 01:11
51 Brefs Messages, Op. 47: III. Ligatura Y 03:31
52 Brefs Messages, Op. 47: IV. Bornemisza Péter. Az hit… 01:45
