The doctoral degree was presented to Kurtág by the academy's rector, the composer Adrian Pop. A laudatory address was delivered by music historian Ferenc László, and chairman of the Association of Romanian Composers and Musicologists Octavian Lazar Cosma as well as the composer and Romanian Academy member Cornel Taranu also gave speeches.
Kurtág expressed his gratitude for the honour in Romanian. Then he performed a concert, playing four-handed pieces on the piano with his wife.
Kurtág and his wife will travel from Cluj-Napoca to Kurtág's birthplace, Lugoj, where Kurtág will be awarded another honorary degree from the National Music Academy of Bucharest. He will also be made an honorary citizen of Lugoj.
Kurtág and his wife will be welcomed by the Western University of Timisoara, the Timisoara branch of the Association of Romanian Composers and Musicologists and leaders of several local cultural institutions. Students of the local music school will perform a concert in his honour.
Kurtág's recently-completed composition Colinda Ballade op. 46, which has a Romanian theme, is expected to premiere in Cluj.
Source: Hungarian News Agency (MTI)
