From 8 to 11 March 2023, Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ pays tribute to the venerable Hungarian composer György Kurtág (Lugoj, 1926) with an extensive festival. During this multi-day Kurtág Festival, organist Ere Lievonen performs works by György Kurtág and several other Hungarian composers, such as György Ligeti, on the 31-tone organ and piano.
In György Kurtág’s oeuvre, the organ plays only a minor role. This is rather remarkable for a composer who adores Bach and has written no fewer than nine books of Játékok (“Games”) for piano. Nevertheless, with this adventurous programme, organist Ere Lievonen demonstrates that the historic Fokker organ can offer a unique and valuable perspective on Kurtág’s music. Lievonen also places Kurtág in the context of his compatriots, creating a rare and stimulating survey of contemporary Hungarian keyboard music.
From Kurtág’s friend and colleague György Ligeti, two works will be performed that were originally written for harpsichord: the hypnotic Passacaglia ungherese and the oddly limping Hungarian Rock, which sounds like a steaming jazz-rock improvisation. László Vidovszky paid tribute to Kurtág’s seventieth birthday with nine short chorales, after Kurtág had earlier composed a Hommage à Vidovszky in the second book of Játékok. The Fokker organ in the Small Hall of the Muziekgebouw is tuned in an unusual 31-tone tuning – the pitches that lie between the keys of an ordinary piano can be played on this instrument. This allows its regular performer Lievonen to present microtonal music, as well as extraordinary arrangements of other works. The result is a rare and stimulating overview of contemporary Hungarian keyboard music.