Originally written as a piano work in 1993 commemorating András Mihály (to whom the composer also dedicated his Op. 13 string quartet from 1978), this second version is Kurtág's first published work that requires a mostly standard orchestra. On top of the usual players, the composer added four Wagner tubas and more percussion instruments than are normally heard. This is not sentimental or bittersweet music; it is serious material, marking the passing of a friend who was likewise serious about music. Its three movements are heard in 12 minutes featuring almost relentless contrast within a cohesive framework. Few composers from the late twentieth century have such a distinctive sound. This is cerebral music without a hint of spirituality, highly personal and revealing a background of political turmoil in the way the ideas in it never seem to come entirely out of seclusion. Part of Shostakovich's strength as a composer was his ability to sound compliant with the expectations of a menacing overseer while offering a code of solidarity and compassion with his acute listeners. Kurtág has a comparable sound, but it is further internalized; having been a citizen of occupied Hungary taught him to keep his head down. He never had the same, highly publicized differences with the Soviet government that Shostakovich had, and though he wrote and published more after he was no longer living under that tyranny, the tenet of political discretion never left him. Instead, it became a more expressive. This is among the most approachable of his works and it demonstrates his artistic character in such a way that new listeners will have an easier time coming to appreciate his superb output by starting here. This score was completed while he was the composer-in-residence for the Berlin Philharmonic, loved by his adopted city, and completely out of danger. There are few voices from the dark times of Eastern Europe in the twentieth century that are so profoundly evocative, smart, and so gravely understated in so effective a manner. This is an important sort of document that reveals the spirit of a most gifted and understated variety of survivor.

© John Keillor, All Music Guide