The centenary of renowned Hungarian composer György Kurtág will be celebrated with a major festival and a year-long series of events across Hungary. Organised by the Budapest Music Center (BMC), the festival will run from 15 to 28 February, bringing together international artists and leading figures from Hungary’s contemporary music scene to present the breadth of Kurtág’s life’s work in the country’s most prestigious concert halls.
At a press conference in Budapest, Balázs Hankó, Minister of Culture and Innovation, confirmed that the government is providing funding of HUF 342 million (EUR 895,000) to support the “Kurtág100” series. The celebrations will take place at venues including the Palace of Arts (Müpa), the Academy of Music, and in cities such as Győr, Szombathely, Pécs, and Szeged. “György Kurtág is the youngest of Hungarian artists, for youth lies in the courage to transcend tradition while preserving its values,” the Minister remarked.
BMC Director László Gőz highlighted several festival highlights. On 18 February, the world premiere of the documentary Kurtág Fragments by Dénes Nagy will be screened at Müpa, followed by a panel discussion with pianist Víkingur Ólafsson, Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Benjamin Appl, and the director. On 19 February, Kurtág’s birthday, audiences will experience key works from his oeuvre, featuring Ólafsson, cellist István Várdai, and the Danubia Orchestra. The following day, his new chamber opera Die Stechardin will premiere with Concerto Budapest, reviving a timeless love story inspired by Kurtág’s dialogue with his late wife Márta.
Additional performances include works by Hiromi Kikuchi, Ken Hakii, György Kurtág Jr., Juliane Banse, and András Keller, as well as the composer’s major vocal cycles, including Achmatova-Pilinszky songs performed by Andrea Jőrös, Zsolt Haja, and the UMZE Chamber Ensemble. The SWR Vocal Ensemble will focus on songs of melancholy and mourning, while concerts will also feature pieces by Bach, Schubert, Schumann, Beethoven, Bartók, and Ligeti.
The festival concludes with a music history symposium, Kurtág Perspectives, and the exhibition Signs, Games, Messages, organised by the Institute of Musicology, providing a comprehensive look at the composer’s enduring influence across genres.