Hungarian composers György Ligeti and György Kurtág met as prospective students of Béla Bartók in Budapest in 1946. This performance of their works includes a discussion of the Cold War politics in Hungary to which they reacted so differently, despite their deep friendship and shared values.

Thirty-five years after its dismantling, the Berlin Wall continues to hold a place in memory as a symbol of the Cold War. The collective output of a generation of writers, artists, and musicians on both sides of the Iron Curtain reveals a complex and often unexpected mix of conflicted nationalist loyalties, ideological optimism, and artistic triumph in the face of profound challenge. Guarneri Hall’s three-day festival commemorating the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989 will explore the music of the Cold War and its context through the socio-political lenses of both the west and the east. With the help of leading topical experts, each event will illuminate less conventionally understood aspects of the era’s music and provide a balanced view of the forces that influenced its composers.

György Ligeti: Homage a Hilding Rosenberg for Violin and Cello
György Kurtág: Officium Breve opus 28 (1989) in memoriam Andreae Szervánszky
György Kurtág: Six Moments Musicaux for String Quartet
György Ligeti: Horn Trio

Artists: Steven Beck, piano; Elizabeth Fayette, Maria Ioudenitch, and Adé Williams, violins; Brian Hong, viola; Alexander Hersh, cello; Nicolee Kuester, French horn