Kurtág, György (1926– )

Hungarian composer. Early influences were Béla Bartók and Zoltán Kodály; later he employed a post-Webern serial technique, in which mosaics of sound are used to build a larger compositional picture.

He studied in Budapest, Hungary, and Paris, France.

Works Chamber and instrumental string quartet (1959); eight duets for violin and cimbalom (1961); string quintet (1971); Splinters, for solo cimbalom (1975); Homage to Luigi Nono, for chamber ensemble (1980); Officium Breve, for string quartet (1989); double concerto for piano, cello, and two chamber ensembles (1990).

Vocal In Memory of a Winter Sunset, for soprano, violin, and cimbalom (1969); Messages of the Late Miss R V Troussova for soprano and chamber ensemble (1980); Scenes from a Novel for soprano and ensemble (1981); Attila-Jószef Fragments for soprano (1981); Kafka Fragmente for soprano and violin (1986); Requiem for the Beloved for soprano and piano (1987); Samuel Beckett: What is the Word for alto voices and ensemble.