GYÖRGY KURTÁG (b.1926): Signs, Games and Messages (complete), Anxiety and Consolation for J.H., Illés Arpadné emlékére, Mesto, lacrimoso, Misterioso - altero.

Description: Collections of tiny pieces, each a different reflecting facet of a larger idea, are a recurring feature of Kurtág's output, from the diary-entry-like Játékok pieces to the Kafka Fragments. These 24 little viola aphorisms (one with the instrument shadowed by a baritone voice) were written over a long period of time - 1961-2005 - and encompass a wide range of the composer's styles, expressed with his customary meticulously detailed, post-Webernian brevity. Intimate reflectiveness and serene memorials predominate, with episodes of playfulness here and there, and a preponderance of simple textures. Individual sounds are as important here as in Feldman, with the tiniest detail of pitch inflection or timbral variation obsessively imbued with meaning. The four additional pieces that stand outside the series include two further dedication pieces, both somber in tone, and two sad and atmospherically sonorous fragmentary mood-pictures. Maurizio Barbetti (viola).