Stele (Kurtág)

Composition

The composition was first conceived as a work for piano in 1993, which was dedicated to András Mihály. However, Kurtág completed the score for orchestra under the commission of the Berlin Philharmonic in 1994, while he was the composer-in-residence for the orchestra. The piece was first premiered in Berlin, on 14 December 1994, by the Berlin Philharmonic under Claudio Abbado, both of these being the dedicatees. It was published later in 2003 by Editio Musica Budapest.

Structure

Stele is in three movements and takes up to thirteen minutes to perform. The three movements are kept untitled and are usually named by their tempo. All of the movements are meant to be played attacca. The movement list is as follows:

It is scored for a very large orchestra, consisting of four flutes, one alto flute, one bass flute, three oboes, one English horn, four clarinets in B-flat, one bass clarinet in B-flat, one contrabass clarinet in B-flat, three bassoons, one contrabassoon, four French horns, two tenor tubas in B-flat, two bass tubas in F, four trumpets in C, four trombones, one contrabass tuba, one cimbalom, two harps, one celesta, one grand piano, one upright piano, one marimba, one vibraphone, a large percussion section consisting of triangle, five cymbals, tam-tam, two bongos, two log drums, two bass drums, one snare drum, one tambourine, one whip, a set of bells, a set of timpani and a large string section.

The final version of the score also includes a 2006 addition to the ending of the score which changes the last bar of the last movement and adds four more bars, extending the last notes played by the instruments. So far, both endings are accepted, even though the first one is still recorded more frequently.

Recordings