The concert was part of the Hungarian Identity series being hosted by the Cité de la musique between November 15 and 20. The series highlights folk music, Gypsy music and the works of Bartók, in addition to contemporary Hungarian composers.
The concert on Sunday was performed by Germany's SWR Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Sylvain Cambreling.
The critic Pierre Gervasoni wrote in Le Monde that Kurtág is different from other contemporary composers in that he does not make a tabula rasa of the past, rather he continues it. For Kurtág, the past as well as the present are living things.
Each part of New Messages is a personal message to somebody. Although the message may not be understand, its significance is clear to all through the expression of music, Gervasoni wrote.
He compared the first message, Merran's Dream, to Wagner's Tristan and Isolde and the third to Alban Berg's opera Woyzeck. The fourth message was like Janácek's Les adieux.
Source: Hungarian News Agency (MTI) / Photo: MTI
