Israel’s Wolf Music Prize Announces 2024 Laureate

Hungarian composer György Kurtág won the $100,000 prize

Founded in 1975, the Wolf Foundation celebrates and promotes outstanding achievements in science and the arts throughout the world. Wolf Price is endowed with $100,000 and awarded annually to nominated individuals.

The famous Hungarian composer György Kurtág is known for his avant-garde works in contemporary classical music. As this year’s laureate, the 98-year-old musician is being recognized for his “contributions to the world’s cultural heritage, which is fundamentally inspiring and human,” the press release stated.

“Kurtág’s influence on contemporary classical music is felt throughout the world and his compositions are appreciated by musicians and audiences alike.” reported the newspaper “Hungary Today”“His works display an intensity and acute introspection, capturing the human condition in a condensed but emotional musical form — one of the reasons the international jury awarded him the Wolf Prize.”

Born in 1926 in Romania, Kurtág began playing the piano at the age of five with Klára Vojkicza-Peia. In 1946 he attended the Budapest Piano School. Franz Liszt Academy of Musicwhere he studied with Pál Kadosa, Leó Weiner, Sándor Veress and Ferenc Farkas. His early musical education was influenced by the works of Kodály and Bartók.

From 1960 to 1968 Kurtág was a coach for the soloists of the National Concert BureauIn 1967 he was invited to teach at his alma mater, first as assistant to his former teacher Kadosa in piano, then as professor of chamber music.

Although he officially retired in 1986, Kurtág conducted courses regularly until 1993. Since then he has conducted chamber music courses throughout Europe and the United States.

As a composer he has written a diverse range of works including chamber music, vocal compositions and orchestral pieces. These include: Játékok (meaning “games”), which highlights his exploration of musical language and his experimentation with form. Among his distinctions are the prestigious Grawemeyer Prize for Music Composition.

As a performer, Kurtág collaborated with his late wife and pianist Marta KurtágThe duo frequently appeared in recital together, presenting memorable performances of Kurtág’s pieces.

In addition, he has been composer-in-residence with orchestras, concert halls, theatres and ensembles, including the Berlin Philharmonic, the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden, the Wiener Konzerthaus, the Dutch National Opera and the Ensemble InterContemporain.

“György Kurtág receives the Wolf Prize for presenting a shining example of a true musician and human being” The press release added. “His music, which deals with existential questions of the human soul, focuses on fundamental emotions such as love and heartbreak, fear, anxiety, despair and the desire for harmony and reconciliation.

“His art ranges from small forms, such as his short piano works, to a large-scale cantata or opera, and it reflects the past and present of the entire history of Western music,” he continues. “Kurtág’s immense influence on many musicians is simply magical. His academic environment was always fortunate to absorb from him a unique spirit of devotion to music, structural thinking and harmony, and thus to experience his work as a tutor as a torch of humanity.”

Kurtág joins the Wolf Prize winners in the music category, including Pierre Boulez, György Ligeti, Plácido Domingo, Paul McCartney, Ádám Fischer and Yehudi Menuhin.