Jelek (Signs) was originally written in 1961 and then withdrawn by the composer. In 1994, it was revised and re-released with inspiration from and assistance by Kim Kashkashian, a seminal violist. Kurtág's six-part cycle for solo viola features movements that vary from 30 seconds to two-and-a-half minutes, and it is one of the few pieces by him that can be rightfully ascribed to a direct influence by Anton Webern. The comparisons existing between Kurtág and Webern have basis in fact, but for the most part, the Hungarian composer was more consistently moved by the legacy of his fellow countryman, Béla Bartók. Clearly in this Op. 5 setting, listeners can detect an appreciation for the Austrian composer's unique aphoristic style, which condenses the music's narrative until an enigma spills over. That is evident here, but so are allusions to the toughly elastic melodic style of Bartók, making these pieces a striking hybrid, though this description is also misleading, insofar as Kurtág is a unique composer who does not generally generate art through synthesis. These six movements demonstrate an intensity that does not exist in other catalogs, featuring a distillation of candor and discretion that is separate from the effect of the other two other artists, who are Kurtág's elders by two generations. All three dealt with tyrants in a different way; Webern ignored them, Bartók relocated to America, and Kurtág demonstrated Koestler-like heroism by remaining in his native Hungary during the occupation of the Soviet Bloc. The Nazis in Webern's backyard were not actually foreigners to him, but the Russian-backed secret police stationed in Budapest were an outside threat to Kurtág's people. He stayed, making music of immaculate, discrete resolve that would never forsake the evolving cultural voice of his country. Jelek is an utterance of that kind of courage, and attuned ears will not mistake it for any other.

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