Usually, I abhor playlists, best-ofs, compilations, and similar. But this concert, packed with short, interconnected, and interspersed works by Kurtág, Bartók, and Kodály plus Bach transcriptions by Kurtág, curated and cleverly catenated by Martin Schminke, was a delight to listen to: pieces for string quartet, trio, duo, and viola solo, presented with first-rate performances by Schminke, Ma Shuang, Till Mengler, and Jana Simić.
I’d never heard Kurtág’s Bach transcriptions before, but I can highly recommend them! And everything else in any case—from Kurtág’s Microludes Op.13 to Bartók’s violin duos to Kódaly’s trio to, of course, Bartók’s String Quartet No.2 in A minor.
Relistening to them is always worthwhile. And if you don’t already know them, then do listen to them, and let them broaden your horizon!
Kurtág 100!
Salon Neue Musik, Klangraum 61, Düsseldorf, Germany
May 10, 2026