One of the most intense musical relationships of our time is that of the composer György Kurtág and his wife Márta, both pianists of introspection and integrity. Kurtág’s Játékok is a series of tiny pieces: fragmentary, elusive lamentations, memorials, homages, some for piano solo which the couple share, some for duet. With their angular but expressive surprises they sound like nothing else. These pieces are interwoven with simple, direct Bach transcriptions, wonderfully played, especially the haunting Sonatina from the Actus Tragicus. This film of a 2012 Paris concert shows the Kurtágs’ complete interdependence, one standing and watching every moment as the other plays, gently touching a shoulder or smiling as they finish. At the end they seem quite surprised the audience is there.
