“Anything can be an inspiring experience if you are in the proper receptive state. As long as there is such an experience. The underground can make a strong impression, and even the really ugly outskirts of a city can be beautiful – if you are open.” (from Gyorgy Kurtag: Three Interviews and Ligeti Homages, Bálint András Varga)

Happy 90th birthday György Kurtág!

Last December Kurtág received Royal Philharmonic Society Gold Medal at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London. Earlier that year, Tom Service wrote a guide to the music of Kurtág, which you can read on The Guardian. One of his readers described the composer (together with Pierre Boulez, who is one year his elder) as “the last surviving link[s] to the great composers born in the 1920s.”

Happy Birthday György Kurtág!

Congratulations to György Kurtág!

Yesterday, 1 December, Kurtág was honoured with the Royal Philharmonic Society Gold Medal at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London.

Tom Service's latest blog-entry is about the music of György Kurtág. In one of the comments, a reader compares Kurtág to Pierre Boulez - calling them “the last surviving link[s] to the great composers born in the 1920s.” What do you think?

Happy Birthday György Kurtág