The apparent heir of Anton Webern and
Béla Bartók,
György Kurtág shows his influences most directly in his works for string quartet. Yet
Kurtág's abandonment of the standard quartet form -- a major consideration in the music of his predecessors -- permits him to explore timbres and techniques freely and for their own sakes, in lieu of thematic development and traditional structures. The most significant works on this disc are the String Quartet, Op. 1 (1959), the Microludes (12) (1977-1978), and the Officium breve in memoriam Andreae Szervánszky (1988-1989). These three works are central to
Kurtág's rather small oeuvre, and reveal how concentrated and intensely expressive his music became over three decades. Listening requires close attention, for the movements do not always announce clear beginnings and endings. However, one is drawn into a heightened experience of sound, and the listener's efforts are richly rewarded. The shorter works, Aus der Ferne III (1991) and the two versions of Ligatura -- Message to Frances-Marie (1989), are enigmatic in their brevity, but characteristic of the open forms
Kurtág pursues in his later "works in progress." This ECM release by the
Keller Quartet is superbly recorded, and the ensemble plays with assurance and profound feeling for
Kurtág's fascinating music.