A.  The folk element is at the core of Hungarian music. Rather than relying upon traditional major/minor scales, composers adapt the modal material of folk music to a variety of scalar and formal types. The imprint of rhythmic vitality comes from folk dance and poetic feet combining, for instance, patterns of 4 and 3 together or 2, 3, 2. Also, the Hungarian language typically stresses the first syllable of words, producing short-long rhythms. On the expressive side, one can find suffering and gloom juxtaposed with humor and gaiety. For the composers represented in my program, playing the piano seems to be a palpable, sensual experience. Their relationship to the keyboard is very physical.

Q.  Bartok and Kodaly were classmates and collaborators, yet their music is very different. How does their music differ in style?

A.  Kodaly's adaptation of folk music might appear to be simpler than Bartok's but strikes one as less cerebral, more obviously emotional. When Kodaly takes a melody and embroiders it or gives it an orchestral embodiment, the intensity expressed is striking. Bartok's music is perhaps more architectural, and his use of contrapuntal techniques is more fully developed. There is also a distinction to be made between Bartok the interpreter and internationally-oriented musician versus Kodaly the pedagogue, upholder of national tradition.

Q.  Kurtag's pedagogical works are not as well known as those of Bartok. Tell us more about his contribution to piano literature.

A.  Kurtag's pieces evolve from a tactile sense of the piano and the fun you can get out of the keyboard. He created a group of pedagogical pieces called Jatekok (Games), a multi-volume series containing pieces of mixed levels engaging the pianist in a variety of ways. They're not presented in order of difficulty like Bartok's pieces and the notation allows the pianist more interpretative freedom. These volumes are a delightful contribution to the piano literature. They are full of wit and contain tributes to teachers, poets and composers important to Kurtag.

Q.  Ligeti is the most notable representative of contemporary Hungarian music. Tell us about his style, particularly the etudes you will be playing.

A.  Ligeti forged a personal style comprised of, among other things, attention to disparate registers, an atmosphere of floating harmony and something he calls "micropolyphony", defined as densely contrapuntal voices woven together in limited intervals of space to create webs of sound. The inspiration for his etudes - some of the most recent music he's written - came from his own explorations as an amateur pianist. The brute physical impression is superseded by a compositional directive and re-evaluated by his ears. He was partly influenced by Nancarrow's Player Piano Etudes (written for the virtuosity of a non-human player) as well as the rhythmic complexities of African music. The etudes bring to the piano the illusion of many simultaneous layers of rhythm going on at once with new melodies emerging from the ear's perception of these layers. Sometimes it seems that many hands are playing at once.

Q.  How did Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsodies advance the status of Hungarian music?

A.  Liszt's 19 Hungarian Rhapsodies were based on Gypsy music and were sometimes thought of as representing Hungarian music in the 19th century. These works were widely played, universally popular and became a beacon light, for better or worse, for Hungary. Magyar music, however, was considered the true Hungarian style and was influenced by both indigenous folk music and European art music and styles. Liszt's collection of both Gypsy and Magyar melodies set the stage for subsequent ethnological research, which may have been his more substantial influence on the advancement of Hungarian music.

Q.  On your journey into the landscape of Hungarian music, have you discovered any mysteries that have yet to be solved?