Kurtág: Játékok

Kurtág: Játékok

Artist(s):

Pierre-Laurent Aimard

Composer(s):

György Kurtág
Release Date: 02-05-2025
PTC: 5187030
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György Kurtág (b. 1926)

Játékok (Games)

Disc 1

Book I (1979)

1) 1b. Prelude and Waltz in C 0:37
2) 3a. Flowers We Are, Frail Flowers 0:27
3) 3b. Flowers We Are, Frail Flowers 0:24
4) 9a. The Bunny and the Fox 0:32
5) 17a. Falling Asleep 0:51
6) 17b. Flowers We Are 0:39

Book II (1979)

7) 2. Hommage à Jeney (Phone numbers of our loved ones 1) 0:54
8) 4. Hommage à Vidovszky (Phone numbers of our loved ones 2) 1:24
9) 5. Quarrelling 0:23
10) 28. Fifths (3) 0:25
11) 29. (bunny rabbit in the grass) 0:17
12) 43. Antiphony in f-sharp 0:58

Book III (1979)

13) 1. Stop and Go 0:43
14) 2. Play with Infinity 0:39
15) 4. (thus it happened) 1:23
16) 25. Hommage à Farkas Ferenc (2) Scraps of a colinda melody. - faintly recollected 2:22
17) 26. Hommage à Farkas Ferenc (3) (evocation of Petrushka) 0:57
18) 30. Dirge (2) 0:47
19) 31. Hommage à Christian Wolff (Half-asleep) 1:04
20) 39. Hommage à Kurtág Márta 0:51

Book V (1997)

21) 6. A voice in the Distance (for Alfred Schlee’s 80th birthday) 1:33
22) 7. La fille aux cheveux de lin - enragée 1:33
23) 12. Preface to a Bálint exhibition 1:15
24) 39. Dialog for the 70th birthday of András Mihály (or: how can one answer to the same 4 sounds with only 3) 1:33
25) 42. In memoriam György Szoltsányi 2:22

Book VI (1997)

26) 4. For Dóra Antal’s Birthday (1st version) 1:14
27) 6. Versetto: Temptavit Deus Abraham (apocryphal organum) 0:34
28) 7. Versetto: Consurrexit Cain adversus fratrem suum… 0:37
29) Versetto: Dixit Dominus ad Noe: finis universe cranes venit… 0:58
30) Sirens of the Deluge — Waiting for Noah 0:35
31) 14. Paän 1:19
32) 28. Les Adieux (in Janacek Manier) 1:26
33) 30. András Hajdú is 60! 1:27
34) 32. In memoriam Tibor Szeszler 2:24
35) 33. Birthday Elegy for Judit - for the second finger of her left hand 1:19
36) 34. Doïna 2:24
37) 39. …waiting for Susan… 1:19
38) 42. In memoriam Ernö Lendvai 0:55
39) 44. Lines for Zsuzsa Sirokay 1:39
40) 47. Face to face — Demény János in memoriam 0:38
41) 50. In memoriam András Mihály 3:06

Book VII (2003)

42) 2. For Georg Kröll’s birthday 1:13
43) 6. …and once again: Shadow-play… 1:12
44) 9. Aus der Ferne IV - Hommage à Alfred Schlee 95 1:49
45) 10. All’ongherese — Hommage à Gösta Neuwirth 60 1:32
46) 16. Roaming in the Past — Ligatura for Ligeti 2:22
47) 17. Hommage à Berényi Ferenc 70 3:34
48) 20. In memoriam Ilona Rozsnyai 2:34
49) 23. Hommage à Hanny Brunner-Pohl 3:00
50) 24. *** (I’m talking to my mother about Márta) 3:17
51) 26. Flowers We Are... to Mijako 1:07
52) 27. Hommage a Beatrice Stein 1:48
53) 29. ...Memories, Little Tin Soldiers... To Martha, for October 1st, 2000 1:26
54) 30. In memoriam Johan van der Keuken 2:45
55) 31. Rodica lui Ionescu —To Martha, for October 1st, 2001 (pianino) 3:24

Disc 2

Book IX (2017)

1) 1. ...apple blossom… (pianino) 1:17
2) 5. Quiet dialogue — To Árpád Göncz with much love, friendship and respect 2:08
3) 6. Medal — In memoriam Lajos Hernádi 1:20
4) 7. ...jubilate… 0:57
5) 8. Hommage a Georg Kröll 70 2:03
6) 9. Hommage a Jehuda Elkana 70 2:02
7) 19. Second Strictly Personal Letter to András Szőllősy on his 85th Birthday 1:22
8) 20. To András Wilheim 1:39
9) 22. Kedves Kett(d)ö — to Márta on reaching 2:24
10) 23. Rituale - Kálmán Strém in memoriam 3:48

Book X (2021)

11) 22. ... and yet another letter to Péter Eötvös ... 1:30
12) 27. in memoriam Emil Petrovics 2:12
13) 29. Dialogue — Bálint Varga 70 1:24
14) 30. A window on the corridor ... 1st October, 1946, Damjanich street 18 1:46
15) 32. ...just so... 1:40
16) 33. A Sketch Leaf (rough-raw) 1:21

in manuscript, the publication of Book XI is in progress

17) Ligatura dolce - amara - amara dolce — to Márta 2:53
18) ...für Heinz... 2/2/2014 1:02
19) ...wie soll ich... —to Márta for 1st October 30/9/2014 Wie soll ich 2:30
20) Passio sine nomine 26/3/2015 2:12
21) ...le chien... to Gyuri for his 66th from his father 13/10/2020 2:03
22) Márta’s Ligature (pianino) 13/11/2020 1:37
23) A la mémoire de Marcel Beccaccia 27/11/2020 1:34
24) In memoriam Anna Holliger 21/6/2021 (pianino) 1:42
25) For Bea, in her deep sorrow 26/3/2021 (pianino) 1:22
26) Farewell — ...to My Dear Friend András Wilheim 25/1/2022 (pianino) 1:53
Total Tracks 81
Total Duration 02hr 05min

Album information

A PLAYFUL AVANT-GARDE ADVENTURE

Star pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard presents an anthology from György Kurtág’s Játékok (Games), recorded in the composer’s presence and under his artistic guidance. In his extensive series of Játékok, Kurtág realizes the spontaneity of a child exploring the piano with the compositional means of his adventurous, avant-garde idiom. Recording such an extensive collection of Játékok is an important statement for Aimard, who has developed an intimate artistic friendship with the composer over decades.

A renowned champion of twentieth-century music, Pierre-Laurent Aimard has released multiple acclaimed albums in his exclusive contract with PENTATONE, including Messiaen’s Catalogue d’Oiseaux (2018) and Visions de l’Amen (2022), along with Beethoven’s Hammerklavier Sonata & Eroica Variations (2021). He also joined Tamara Stefanovich in Etudes and Frames (2023), with music by Vassos Nicolaou, and recorded Bartók’s Piano Concertos with the San Francisco Symphony and Esa-Pekka Salonen (2023).  The miniature nature of Kurtág’s Játékok makes them an unexpected, yet logical successor of Aimard’s acclaimed album Schubert Ländler (2024), which consisted of dances that the pianist often combines with Kurtág’s short pieces in live performances.

Released physically on 2 standard CDs.