Sappho-Zyklus

Hommage à György Kurtág

op. 12, 1995

For soprano (or other voices) or Byzantine style psalm singer and piano
Duration: 3 min.

Text: Sappho

World premiere: 1995, Berlin. Soprano: Maria Husmann, piano: Konstantia Gourzi

Composer’s Notes

The composition Sappho-Zyklus is one single piece, based on a text by Sappho.

The title “Cycle” refers not to the number of pieces but the completeness of Sappho’s text.

In 1995, the Hungarian composer György Kurtág wrote a piece for soprano and piano with this text and dedicated it to me. In return, I composed a new piece with the same text and dedicated it to him. The piano doesn’t accompany the singer the usual way, but prepares the singing and reacts to the sung text. Originally, Sappho-Zyklus was meant for soprano, but can be performed also by other voices like mezzosoprano or baritone.