NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra / Nils Mönkemeyer / Matthias Pintscher

The work of the Hungarian composer György Kurtág, to whom the Elbphilharmonie is dedicating a spotlight series this season, is always characterised by intense concentration and density of expression. These qualities are exemplified by the compositions in this concert in the NDR das neue werk series. The »Petite musique solennelle« was Kurtág’s birthday greeting to Pierre Boulez when he turned 90 in 2015, while »Stele« is dedicated to Kurtág’s composer friend András Mihály in 1994. The three movements of »Stele« total only 13 minutes, but in that short time there unfolds an expressiveness of captivating complexity. In a rare concrete statement about his own music, Kurtág once said of »Stele« that it evokes associations »of someone lying wounded on a battlefield. The fighting rages all around him, but he sees only a very clear, very blue sky – and nothing is as important as this sky«.