Attila József – Fragments op. 20

For a Hungarian composer, writing music set to the poems of Attila József is no small feat. In this series, György Kurtág (* 1926) took on this immense challenge in a unique way even within his own oeuvre: the loneliness of the unaccompanied, single voice line simultaneously evokes the musical world of Hungarian folk songs or even 17th-century monody. The poems - rather the fragments, the seeds of poetry abandoned by the poet - capture strong, realistic images and human situations that are characteristic of Attila József. As he is wont to do with his compositions, Kurtág transforms these poetic images into equally unforgettable musical images, drawing an atmosphere ofcontemplation, despair, boredom, happiness, and fear of death with just a few sounds. This composition was premiered on October 26, 1982 in Budapest by Adrienne Csengery, the recipient of the work s dedication.