“A Glenn Gould for the 21st century” (LA Times), the Italian-born Formenti performs his delicate, otherworldly cycle of interlocked piano pieces based on the work of György Kurtág, the Hungarian modernist who taught András Schiff. In this hybrid composition, bursts of Messaien, Stockhausen, and Bartók intercut with fragments from Kurtág, creating a spectral network of citation that leaves audiences in “a state of exhilaration beyond any experience” (LA Weekly).

PROGRAM:
KURTAG’S GHOSTS

“What James Joyce did for the novel, Formenti seems intent on doing for the piano recital. The results were unforgettable…He is a unique artist, whose presentations should not be missed.”
—San Francisco Chronicle