Latest news with #Játékok
The Guardian
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Leif Ove Andsnes and Bertrand Chamayou review – rewarding pairing brings intimacy and colour
Until Márta Kurtág's death in 2019, one of the most delightful musical experiences was to watch and listen to her and her composer husband György playing his piano duets – the playfulness, the quiet intimacy, the way in which the writing meant they crossed arms as if in a gentle game of Twister. But you don't have to be married to play Kurtág's duets – just generous with your personal space. Leif Ove Andsnes and Bertrand Chamayou chose eight of them for this recital, performing them alongside Kurtág's similarly miniature solos and framing them with four works by Schubert, the master piano duet writer of the 19th century. The Kurtág pieces on the main programme were all from Játékok: translating as Games, this is a collection of mostly tiny piano solos and duets united by their concision and sense of mischief which Kurtág, now 99, has been adding to for half a century. Andsnes's solo set began with an Evocation of Petrushka that indeed sounded like a sped-up tape of Stravinsky; immediately afterwards there was the contrast of Les Adieux, quietly throbbing into silence, then an about-turn into the frenzied klaxon of Sirens of the Deluge. Chamayou sent his hands cartwheeling repeatedly down the keyboard in The Little Squall, and painted spots of changing colour in Hommage Tardif à Karskaya. Their duets were even more vivid, with Harangok and Kyrie showcasing differing and equally convincing ways of making the piano sound like bells. Close and complementary in style – Chamayou slightly more animated, Andsnes perhaps cooler and more analytical – the two made a rewarding team in Schubert, whether in the richly woven, melodious Rondo in A, the occasionally spiky Allegro in A minor or the constantly shifting harmonies of the E minor Fugue, written for organ. The highlight was the Fantasie in F minor, which with Andsnes on the top line was shaped into long paragraphs in a way that maintained momentum, before broadening out into an impassioned conclusion. It was back to Kurtág for the encores: two of his many Bach transcriptions, ending with the Sonatina from Actus Tragicus – two minutes of quiet, unassuming beauty.
The Guardian
01-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Kurtág: Játékok review – Aimard is perfect guide to major set of piano miniatures
In 1973, György Kurtág began composing piano miniatures to which he gave the collective title of Játékok (Games). He has continued to add to the series, so that now there are well over 400 such pieces, for both solo piano and four hands, which have been published in 10 volumes so far. The pieces, rarely more than a couple of minutes long and sometimes lasting just a few seconds, were first intended as didactic exercises, designed to elucidate a musical point or a detail of keyboard technique, but the collection soon began to encompass other occasional works and more personal expressions – birthday greetings, tributes and memorials to friends and fellow musicians, paraphrases of other music – becoming a complete encyclopedia of Kurtág's compositional methods. The Guardian's journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more. The composer and his wife, Márta, who died in 2019, regularly performed pieces from the growing collection in their recitals together, as well as recording a number of them. Pierre-Laurent Aimard's selection, approved by Kurtág and recorded with him in attendance, takes in a total of 81 pieces drawn from all the published volumes, with the exception of the fourth and eighth, books of pieces for piano duet and two pianos, but also including some that are still in manuscript that will appear in the as yet unpublished 11th volume. Aimard plays the pieces in chronological order, and that natural sequence provides all the contrast such an undertaking requires. There are pieces that are fiercely expressionist, others that are sweetly lyrical, even sentimental, some whose music is as withdrawn and mysterious as the titles that Kurtág gives them, and others that are laugh-out-loud witty. Whole worlds of expression are encapsulated in just a few bars, and listening to Aimard's exemplary performances provides as important an insight into Kurtág's very personal musical thinking as any of his larger-scale, more 'public' pieces. Játékok is one of the major achievements of the last half century, and Aimard is the perfect guide to it. Listen to the album on Apple music This article includes content hosted on We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as the provider may be using cookies and other technologies. To view this content, click 'Allow and continue'. Listen to the album on Spotify
