‘Have you ever been to a 100th birthday party? As part of my research for this festival, I attended György Kurtág’s 100th birthday concert in Budapest. The Maestro gets around in a wheelchair these days, but his eyes are crystal clear. “My mother tongue is Bartók,” Kurtág says, “and Bartók’s mother tongue is Beethoven.”

To celebrate Kurtág’s rare milestone, we feature one of his most important pieces: the Kafka Fragments from 1985/86. These are forty short aphorisms, commenting on life with great philosophical insight. When I first heard them performed, they permeated my consciousness and echoed in my mind for days.’

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