The more we immerse ourselves in György Kurtág's music, and the more this music moves us, the clearer it becomes that – as pianist Gábor Csalog puts it – “the old and the new intertwine, blurring the boundaries between the past and the present.” Thus, on the evening with cellist Miklós Perényi and pianists András Kemenes and Gábor Csalog, it is not the music of Bach and Kurtág, Schubert and Kurtág, or Mozart and Kurtág that is heard, but “pure” music, free from all stylistic and genre constraints, which draws both performer and listener into its spell. It is uplifting to realise that, in Csalog's words, as Kurtág's contemporaries, “we were and still are witnesses to the continuity of music history.” It is often said that Kurtág's art is in lively dialogue with tradition, but it may simply be that the questions that can be raised and answered in music have not changed since Bach or Schubert. According to András Kemenes, only those who deeply understand Mozart “can truly understand Kurtág. That is why I cannot separate them from each other. These are inseparable qualities.”

For the full festival programme and ticket purchases, visit: 100.kurtag.hu