Alessandra Rombolà György Kurtág – Blumen die Menschen, nur Blumen

Flutist Alessandra Rombolà specializes in modern repertoire, often with electronics. She has worked extensively in her native Italy, as well as in Spain, and currently in Norway. Her interpretive intelligence and sensitivity result in what may be considered ultimate versions of the works she chooses. And such is her album featuring György Kurtág’s solo and chamber music for flute. Kurtág often writes cycles comprising short movements that say only what needs to be said—there are no unnecessary notes. His 1997 work Jelenetek (Scenes) for flute offers a mosaic of moods and expressions, representing a lighter side of the composer’s output. It is almost theatrical in its vocalizations, deceptively trite gestures, and allusions to the music of the past. Begun in 1989, Jelek, játekok és üzenetek (Signs, Games, and Messages) is a long-term project for various combinations of instruments. In this case, Rombolà multitracks the movements, which require multiple flutes. Several parts call for piano, played with the utmost warmth by Benedetto Boccuzzi, and some call for baritone, sung beautifully in the Samuel Beckett movement by Paolo Leonardi. Another incarnation of the same cycle follows, this time featuring a flute solo. Both versions demonstrate Rombolà’s in-depth understanding of the music and its most subtle intricacies. Contrabassist Håkon Thelin truly shines in Kurtág’s texturally rich masterpiece for flute, contrabass, and piano, Bagatellek (Bagatelles). This last work well deserves repeated listening; the recording, editing, mixing, and mastering are world-class.