Kurtág: Complete Works for Ensemble and Choir review

At 91, György Kurtág is the grand old man of European music. He was born in the same decade as Boulez, Berio, Stockhausen and Xenakis, all of whom found fame and fortune before he did. ECM's composer-approved recordings of his works for ensemble, with and without soloists and choir, illuminate the way Kurtág has been able to absorb and distil potent influences that would surely  have overpowered the work of a less focused and concentrated composer. His manner is so compact that only six of the 52 movements here last for over four minutes. De Leeuw and his first-rate soloists make their traversal of this unique body of work a mesmerising and piercing journey. url.ie/kh67 MICHAEL DERVAN