Drei Gespräche mit Bálint András Varga und Ligeti-Hommagen

György Kurtág (born 1926) is considered one of the most important composers since 1945. Born in Romania, he received decisive impulses from his studies with Olivier Messiaen and Marianne Stein in Paris. His intensive study of Anton Webern's music and the challenge of literary works, in particular the plays of Samuel Beckett, were equally formative. In 2006, his ... concertante ... (2003, for violin, viola and orchestra) was awarded the coveted Grawemeyer Award for Music Composition.

This unique series of conversations with Kurtág, alone and together with his wife, provides a fascinating insight into the composer's personality, which is characterized by restraint, but equally by an insatiable desire for sensory impressions through art and nature as well as encounters with people. The two speak with disarming candor about their lives - the background against which masterpieces such as Messages of the Late Miss R. V. Troussova (1976-80, for soprano and chamber orchestra) or Stele (1994, for orchestra) were written.
The analysis of some of Kurtág's works, above all ... concertante ..., reveals his working method: no system, no dogma, no formulas - but the expression of elementary human emotions with means that directly address the innermost regions of the listener.

The Hungarian music journalist Bálint András Varga has dedicated almost forty years to working for and with composers. He has published several books, including extensive interviews with Lutoslawski, Berio and Xenakis.

Kurtág is a very shy volcano. He is either silent or he erupts. We've been on speaking terms for fifty years, both privately and professionally, but it was only through this book that I really got to know him. He never or hardly ever gives interviews. What Bálint András Varga has achieved here is a true miracle. No one else could have done it. This book is proof of the trust and esteem Kurtág has for him.

- Peter Eötvös

An important introduction to the music and the person of this unique composer.
- Pierre Boulez

A lively insight into the ingenious creative power of the composer György Kurtág. The unique perspective offered by Bálint Varga is incredibly sensitive; the cultural roots he shares with Kurtág, as well as his enormous expertise in music, history, art and literature, provide a brilliant foundation for Kurtág's thoughts. As the former head of public relations at Universal Edition in Vienna, he also writes with a profound knowledge of the works of Kurtág's contemporaries. An unprecedentedly sensitive look at Kurtág's work, character and personality.
- Kent Nagano

Kurtág is one of the great composers of our time, comparable only to Webern. In twenty years' time, knowledgeable listeners will love his music as much as Schubert's. It was high time we learned more about him and his music. Bálint András Varga is probably the most qualified author we could wish for this book, thanks to his unique knowledge and deep affection for the person and music of Kurtág.
- Michael Gielen

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