Performance, Language and Memory: Perspectives on the Music of György Kurtág

Performance, Language and Memory: Perspectives on the Music of György Kurtág is an upcoming publication dedicated to the work of composer György Kurtág, who will turn 100 in 2026. Bringing together researchers from three continents, the book examines Kurtág’s music through the lenses of performance, language, and memory, while also addressing how his work fits into the realm of 21st-century music. The volume will offer a variety of analytical and historical perspectives to Kurtág’s work.

Kurtág, born in Romania to a Jewish-Hungarian family, grew up in a multilingual environment. He speaks several languages—Hungarian, German, Russian, English, French, Romanian, and Ancient Greek—, which he often integrates into his compositions. He is not only attentive to how the sound of languages can differ, but the different realities and thinking processes they can inspire. He has been influenced by literary figures such as Kafka, Akhmatova, and Beckett, and shaped by the historical situation of the post–World War II era and the Cold War. Still active at age 99, Kurtág serves as one of the last representatives of this generation of composers.

The publication of Performance, Language and Memory: Perspectives on the Music of György Kurtág is supported by the Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation.

Further Information:
luigiboccherini.org

Dates

October 17, 2025
Library of the Centro Studi Boccherini, Lovere (IT)

November 28, 2025
Accademia Tadini, Lovere (IT)

February 10, 2026
Università degli Studi di Salerno (IT)