Kafka-Fragmente by György Kurtág

Of today’s composers, none is more to the point than Hungarian György Kurtág. With his own highly original aesthetic, his Kafka-Fragmente, written between 6 July 1985 and 9 March 1987, stand out as one of the great lieder cycles. With a duration of 60 minutes, 40 miniatures are grouped into four sections that gravitate round a main motif: the search for a path in the labyrinth of existence. 

Written from excerpts from a diary, letters and a posthumous text by the author of the process, the Kafka-Fragmente are presented as an intimate confession without a narrative thread. Kurtág has entrusted a soprano and a violin soloist with this fascinating kaleidoscope of emotional landscapes in which humour, sensuality, desire, tenderness… all come to the fore. A rare opportunity to bring Isabelle Faust and Anna Prohaska together on stage, both at the peak of their careers.