“Last Thursday marked the 100th birthday of György Kurtág, the dean sui generis among the composers of our time. While the venerable composer himself attended a gala performance in Budapest, another brilliant concert celebration took place in Helsinki, presented by Anu Komsi and Piia Komsi, sopranos, Helga Karen, piano and Sakari Oramo, violin at the Paavo Hall of the Helsinki Music Centre. In the course of the spellbound evening, intriguing selections from the composer’s pristine œuvre were heard in formidable readings.” (…)
“Framing the Játékok pieces, two song cycles for soprano and piano by Kurtág were given in evocative readings by Piia Komsi and Karen. As Kurtág’s chosen title suggests, the texts of Three Old Inscriptions, op. 25 (1986-87) come from a cemetery of a small village in southern Hungary.” (…)
“In their joint surprise encore, the four musicians brought onstage Piia Komsi’s tongue-in-cheek birthday greeting, a hilarious henhouse scene awash with vocal and instrumental onomatopoeia, wholeheartedly endorsed by the audience.”
Read the full review by Jari Kallio (2026-02-24) here: A Birthday Concert to Remember