Kurtag: Perpetuum Mobile (A piece for glissandos only)

"Perpetuum Mobile" is a piece from "Játékok" [Games] series of piano exercises in 7 volumes composed between 1975 and 1993 by Hungarian composer Gyorgy Kurtag (1926- ). Now is performed by the composer.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Gyorgy
• Kurtag
• Jatekok
• Games
• Composer
• Childen
• Perpetuum
• Mobile
• Piano
• Glissando
• Hungarian
• Bela
• Bartok
• Ligeti

[bitachar]

What a cliche: 'it sounds like my little nephew of 3 years old playing the piano': just as simple as 'it sounds like a cat walking on the keys'

Some people have little nephews and cats that are geniuses.

[singinginthecave]

These pieces are etudes designed so that children can play them. They free up the body and the spirit for playing the piano from core energy. process more than product I'd say. If more students played this kind of music as children they probably would keep playing.

[somor98]

Oh, I just love scale excercises

[J05TI]

omg this is fucking easy.

[fritoplugkilovais]

¡Fantastic! I love Kurtág music.

Thanks for the post.

[Physdelicdreaming]

I like the effect glissandos make on the piano. Whenever I am composing, I do a glissando in between because it is like meditating for me, and it helps me think. I can make them chromatic or simple. It's especially beautiful when you add a melody to them - it's like listening to water, or watching trees sway. I always thought the trees seemed to dance to the glissandos. Glissandos are like painting for me, and since I do paint, I am able to paint with sound as well as color. :-)

[flibbertergibbet]

Thanks for your thoughtful reply. I know Jatekok is primarily for young pianists, and I'm not criticising THAT. Nor am I criticising manipulating objets trouves.

I'm saying this piece is COMPOSITIONALLY facile: anybody with the slightest pianistic talent could just improvise it. This can't be described as "genius" because it doesn't need a genius to write it.

Take one of Kurtag's great pieces: Stele. That actually required some real thought to make it work. This doesn't. See what I mean?

[rjr1967]

@flibbertergibbet It's from Játékok/Games, which was/is written with young pianists in mind. What you've said could apply to most piano methods down the centuries - and most of those learner pieces are not concert-worthy. Kurtág's genius lies in taking something technically feasible for novice pianists, and making it "speak". The title is Games - he is playing around with objets trouvés. But I'm baised - I would buy anything from this wonderful human being.

[flibbertergibbet]

In what sense is this Kurtag's composition? Any pianist of sufficient technical skill could just improvise glissandi in ever-changing patterns just as well as this, if not better! I think it's a scam.

No doubt HE's sincere and really means it, but that doesn't automatically endow with any artistic merit or meaning.

[EdiEllerymissing]

Even worse than your stupidity?

[EdiEllerymissing]

Possibly the greatest asshole I've ever red.