Pierre-Laurent Aimard returns to the Budapest Music Center (BMC) in February 2026 to take part in Kurtág 100, a landmark festival honouring the 100^th birthday of György Kurtág, one of the most significant Hungarian composers in music history. Organised by BMC, the series gathers international artists and leading interpreters of contemporary music for a programme that reflects the extraordinary breadth of Kurtág’s oeuvre.

On 17 February, Aimard performs in a chamber concert at BMC alongside Steven Isserlis, Izabella Simon and Dénes Várjon. The programme features selections from Kurtág’s celebrated piano cycle Játékok (‘Games’), including material from the unreleased 11^th volume, performed by Aimard.

Events continue at Müpa Budapest from 18 to 20 February 2026 with a related festival dedicated to the composer’s life and work. On 18 February, audiences can attend a screening of Kurtág Fragments, a documentary directed by Dénes Nagy. Filmed over four years, it offers an intimate portrait of the composer and features performances and appearances by musicians long associated with his work, including Aimard, Víkingur Ólafsson, Benjamin Appl and Steven Isserlis. The screening will be followed by an English-language panel discussion.

The festival concludes on 20 February with an orchestral concert conducted by Keller András and performed by Concerto Budapest. Aimard joins soloists Máté Szűcs and László Fenyő for a programme that sets Kurtág’s music in dialogue with earlier composers. Aimard performs the strikingly beautiful double concerto for cello and piano from the late 1980s — one of Kurtág’s most significant mature works — alongside Bartók’s Piano Concerto No. 3.

For the full festival programme: 100​.kurtag​.hu