Classical Music | Piano Music

György Kurtág

Hommage à Schubert, from Játékok  Play

Wayne Weng Piano

Recorded on 07/30/2014, uploaded on 12/10/2014

Musician's or Publisher's Notes

In 1973, Kurtág began an ongoing project of writing volumes of imaginative and experimental miniatures inspired by children’s innocent approach to piano playing – hence the title: Játékok (Games).  The set of selected pieces performed here begins with “Hommage à Schubert,” a serene piece that befittingly bridges Schubert’s G-flat impromptu and other works by Kurtág.  Next, “Fanfare,” is an energetic piece in the style of his compatriot Bartók.  In “Play with Infinity,” the pianist practically plays every single note on the keyboard in a hushed descending chromatic scale accompanied by interruptive splashes of colors.  This atmospheric vignette is followed by the bright sounds of “Capriccioso-luminoso”, and the set concludes with the dark piece “Kondor Rock,” composed in the manner of the aging Liszt.    Wayne Weng

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