Gyorgy Kurtág’s Kafka Fragments of 1986 is a pretty weird piece.  It sets forty short fragments (anything from less than a minute to maybe six and a half) from Kafka’s diaries and journals for soprano and violin, which is unusual enough.  But it’s the range of techniques involved for both musicians which i think contributes to why people want to perform them and some people at least to listen to them.

Just about every technique fior violin, short of smashing it, is called for; very rapid staccato phrases, pizzicato, percussive effects of various kinds etc.  The vocal part is perhaps even more varied; singing (but with crazy intervals and very high notes), Sprechstimme, speaking, whispering, chattering, screaming ad more.  Each fragment basically deals with an emotion (mostly negative!) and is set accordingly so the emotional range is pretty much as wide as the range of techniques.

This latest recording features Americans soprano Susan Narucki and violinist Curtis Macomber.  It’s a piece they have been performing for a while so it’s an evolved performance and pretty convincing.  It was recorded at Dorothy Young Center for the Arts at Drew University in New Jersey and it’s well recorded with a natural sound with plenty of dynamic and frequency range.

It’s due for release on June 20th 2025 (digital only).  Formats are MPS and FLAC/ALAC/WAV in CD quality and 96kHz/24bit.  I listened to the hi-res version.  There’s a digital booklet with lots of information plus texts and English translation.

Catalogue information: Avie Records AV2760