an exemplary achievement and deeply engaged

We owe the record company ECM a set of specimens recordings of works by Gyorgy Kurtag.
This disc is dedicated to his work for string quartets by the Keller Quartet, usual interpreter of this music and friends of the composer. The leader Andras Keller was also the creator of the Kafka-Fragmente which are the subject of another disk edited by ECM.
Although relatively little present in his work compared to vocal music, the string quartet is nonetheless an essential genre and even a kind of alpha and omega of his work.
It is not irrelevant that the quartet Kurtag chose to open its catalog. Composed in 1959 the quartet opus 1 marks the beginning of a new creative era for Kurtag after he discovered in Paris the forefront of Western music.
The decisive factor was the discovery and study of Webern which indelibly mark his style.
This is also the kind of Webern quartet that influence is perhaps the most striking. The 6 short pieces that form Opus 1 has many connections with Webern bagatelles opus 9.
The album consists of twelve 13 short movements that correspond to twelve degrees of the chromatic scale, the initial or main note of each movement is always that given the chromatic sequence taken in an upward direction.
Opus 28, composed between 1988 and 1989 was directly inspired by the second cantata Webern which he cited the last movement.
The realization of the Keller Quartet is exemplary, in addition to these three major works face "aus der ferne" short piece of 2'32 that is not (yet?) In the catalog, as well as two versions of the album 31 / b which is not a work for quartet se even if it uses four strings! the quartet is here composed of two cellos and two violin which is added celesta. It's Miklos Perenyi, another great Hungarian virtuoso who reinforces the Keller and Kurtag itself takes the part of celesta.
He composed two versions that are proposed here.
Needless to say, these records are what we can find more in line with the wishes of the composer.
Upon its release, the album was what he was most complete in the genre since Kurtag added a new opus, 6 musical moments quartets opus 44 following an order made by the festival "Quartets Bordeaux ". The Mezzo channel recently broadcast a concert of Keller or this work has been played, wish that next issue comes discography crown this work.
The timing of the disc is pretty chick, a reissue of the album completed 44 would be welcome.