Lines of life: Schubert & Kurtág

Benjamin Appl met Hungarian composer György Kurtág in 2019 and has worked with him ever since. 'He has shaped me both as a musician and as a human being, perhaps more than anyone else,' says Appl. This album alternates Romantic German lieder by Schubert and Brahms with vocal pieces by Kurtág, five of which are world premiere recordings. Kurtág himself is at the piano for two of the songs by Schubert and Brahms; while the German baritone's old and trusted friends Pierre-Laurent Aimard and James Baillieu join him for the other works in this programme, all under the artistic direction of Kurtág, ending with a fascinating recorded interview with Gyuri bácsi ('Uncle George') by Benjamin Appl, who tells us: 'My aim in this album is to give listeners a glimpse into the infinite universe of György Kurtág, a shy procrastinator, stern self-critic, hesitant researcher, introverted questioner, unpretentious intellectual, brilliant composer and an extraordinary human being.'