György Kurtág has been inspired at every stage of his career by studying masterpieces from earlier periods of music history. As a result, he has written numerous transcriptions of works by old masters (Guillaume Machaut, Orlando Lasso, Frescobaldi, Schütz, Purcell, Bach, Mussorgsky and Bartók) for piano four hands, two pianos and solo piano. Some of the transcriptions also served his work as a chamber music teacher, others served the Kurtág couple’s chamber music at home, and became an indispensable part of their own concerts.

The transcription of the Adagio sostenuto movement of Haydn’s String Quartet in G major (op. 76. no.1) for solo piano was made as a gift for Márta Kurtág’s 88th birthday in 2015. This publication was released for the 99th birthday of György Kurtág by UMPEMB.

The complete choral works of two important Hungarian composers of the twentieth century, Béla Bartók and Zoltán Kodály, are now available in an expanded and carefully corrected edition. The new edition includes several works or versions of works that have not appeared in print before. The publications have been edited based on standardized editorial principles, with clearly legible musical graphics, and informative prefaces and afterwords.

The new edition of Bartók’s works was prepared on the basis of the Béla Bartók Complete Critical Edition , edited in the Bartók Archives in Budapest. It includes Hungarian and English translations of the texts, and provides detailed information on issues relating to the performance of the works and the sources.

Kodály's choral works were edited by Péter Erdei, one of the most knowledgeable and expert interpreters of the composer's choruses, with reference to all the sources in the Kodály Archive in Budapest.

The choral oeuvre of both composers is published in three volumes: choral works for mixed voices, for children’s and female voices, and for male voices. The volumes are available in a soft-cover edition, and also in an exclusive clothbound version with gold lettering. The three clothbound volumes can be purchased together in a presentation box at a discount.

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This series is intended as a guide to the keyboard music of the 16th to 19th centuries for pupils of the piano and the harpsichord, as well as of other early keyboard instruments. Each volume contains pieces by well-known and lesser-known composers from one country or region.

The main purpose of the series is to extend the repertoire and stylistic knowledge of both pianists and harpsichordists while also presenting fine pieces and typical genres based on original sources. Our edition retains the performance indications of the composers' manuscripts and contemporary editions.