This is the first complete recording of the 24 Signs, Games and Messages by Hungarian composer György Kurtág: a collection of very personal miniatures which Kurtág began writing almost 50 years ago and which he continues to add to. Many have been written, dedicated or inspired by a particular person; they pass, sometimes impertinent, sad, serene, cheerful, joyful, thoughtful or melancholic. This CD is completed by the first recordings of four other pieces for viola solo, composed in the 1990s between Budapest and Berlin. Winner of Darmstadt Preis and International Award Interpretation Iannis Xenakis in Paris, violist Maurizio Barbetti has performed as a soloist in major concert halls worldwide. New commission have been written for him by such composers as Paul Mèfano, Ennio Morricone and Luis de Pablo e Horatiu Radulescu. Barbetti is joined by baritone Gianpiero Ruggeri, who sings on “Samuel Beckett: le nain”.
3rd June 2011
*****
“a sometimes baffling succession of prickly pizzicato and cartoonish, sweeping glissandi, demented see-saw bowing and mouse-like scurryings. Many are musical aphorisms, prompts for reflection, and quite a few are evocations of friends and influential teachers, miniature memories like the lugubrious "Letter to Vera Ligeti" and "For Imre Földes at 60", which has the poise and immobility of a zen rock-garden.”
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