Dennis Báthory-Kitsz   home · composer · engraver · author · editor · photographer · contact


The Big List has the Latest Scores and Downloads



Chamber Music Available through 2015

Music for One Instrument



Dennis Bathory-Kitsz

The Four Rules of Use

    1. Download, print, study, rehearse, perform, enjoy! If you download, please tell me. Don't want to do it youself? Purchase printed scores & parts from Frog Peak Music.
    2. Report the performance to me & ASCAP (One Lincoln Plaza, New York, NY 10023 US, Attn: Indexing). Used it for teaching? Please tell me what your students thought.
    3. Send a recording if you made one to Dennis Báthory-Kitsz, 176 Cox Brook Road, Northfield VT 05663 US, or upload it. I even enjoy amateur or 'living room' performances. Don't be shy!
    4. Do not republish my music without written permission from me. This music is not public domain. The usual rules of copyright apply. Why are my scores free?
  • Looking for parts? This link is the index of all score downloads, including music not yet listed here.
  • Find manuscript scores described in the Big List. Ask me for photocopies.
  • Want scores or parts you don't see? Is the music not arranged for your ensemble? Ask me. I can make arrangements or grant you permission to do so.

Exclusive Distributor

Frog Peak Music
Box 1052, Lebanon, New Hampshire 03766

Publisher

Westleaf Edition
176 Cox Brook Road, Northfield, Vermont 05663

Catalog Index

Keyboard · Solo · Two Instruments · Three Instruments · Four Instruments · Five or More Instruments · Large Ensemble · Voice and Chorus · Performance Works · Electroacoustic · Music for Young People · Media Comments · Home Page



Solo

(see also Vocal, Chamber Music for Two Instruments (for accompanied solos), Electroacoustic and Performance catalog)


Key

MIDI file to listen to a MIDI demo version of the music.
MP3 file to listen to a performance in MP3.
MP3 file to download a performance in MP3.
MP3 file to listen to an MP3 demo performance of an acoustic piece.
Adobe PDF file (Please fill out info form) to view or download an Adobe PDF file.
Real Video file to watch a RealMedia video of the music.
Windows Video file to watch a Windows Media video of the music.
YouTube link to watch a video of the music on YouTube.
Word file to read program or lecture notes in DOC format.
Available from Frog Peak Music means printed editions can be purchased.
[OK for broadcast] means broadcast rights are granted.

Adobe PDF file (Please fill out info form)

Anticipation & Stormtide / accordion / 8 minutes

A little suite for accordion (Stradella bass), commissioned by Nicholas "Spike" Maggio for the 2007 We Are All Mozart project.

Adobe PDF file (Please fill out info form) MP3 file

Bales, Barrels, & Cones: Antebellum/Antibellum / drumkit and playback (CD) / 8 minutes

Adobe PDF file (Please fill out info form) Word file Bales is a virtuoso piece for drumkit (hihat, 4 cymbals, snare, 3 toms, bass drum) and playback, written for composer/performer Michael Manion. The playback CD is available from the composer. Because of its size, this piece is not available as a Finale ETF file. The second PDF link to the left is the percussion part on 11x17 paper. Available from Frog Peak Music

Adobe PDF file (Please fill out info form)

Candles of Red Sky / theremin / 8 minutes

A composition that uses theremin and the performer's voice, very aetherial and liquid, commissioned by Ann Cantelow for the 2007 We Are All Mozart project.

Adobe PDF file (Please fill out info form) MP3 file

Cígleránia / horn / 13 minutes

Cígleránia is a virtuoso piece for solo horn, along with foot stomping and vocal multiphonices. Exhausting and exquisite, it is some of the most challenging horn music of its time, and was commissioned by the brilliant Czech performer Petr Cígler. Available from Frog Peak Music

Adobe PDF file (Please fill out info form)

Cithara-Cantus Cantoris / jew's harp / 5 minutes

An unusual composition for the jew's harp's increasingly high harmonics, commissioned by Samuel Vriezen for the 2007 We Are All Mozart project.

Adobe PDF file (Please fill out info form)

Coarse Salt / soprano sax / 6 minutes

An intense screamin' solo for soprano sax, commissioned by Michael Straus for the 2007 We Are All Mozart project.

Adobe PDF file (Please fill out info form)

Compound Refractions / flute / 7 minutes

Action-packed flute solo commissioned by John McMurtery for the 2007 We Are All Mozart project.

Adobe PDF file (Please fill out info form)

Curious Crimson Glow / bass trombone / 6 minutes

Crimson-lip-inducing bass trombone solo commissioned by Christopher Smith for the 2007 We Are All Mozart project.

Adobe PDF file (Please fill out info form) MP3 file

The Eight Pawners (8 Pooners) / performance piece for clarinetist / 30 minutes

An extremely demanding performance piece, 8 Pooners requires a virtuoso instrumentalist who is unafraid to perform outdoors wearing only trousers, and who is willing to disassemble and burn the clarinet. Actually, it can be any clarinet... Available from Frog Peak Music

Adobe PDF file (Please fill out info form) YouTube link

Evasively Transcendental / viola / 8 minutes

Third movement of a viola sonata commissioned by Elizabeth Reid and Robert Bonotto for the 2007 We Are All Mozart project.

Adobe PDF file (Please fill out info form)

Fields of Vision / percussion / 15-60 minutes

Large graphical score of a three-movement piece for percussionist and found percussion. Expansive, improvisatory, detailed and graphically beautiful as well. Available from Frog Peak Music

Adobe PDF file (Please fill out info form) MP3 file

Fodor Fugue / violin / 5 minutes

Fodor Fugue was created for Eugene Fodor while he was vacationing in my former town of Roxbury, Vermont. Fodor said he loved fugues, and was excited by the idea that I would create one for him. Unfortunately, after many changes in his life, he opted to forget those days -- and this piece. Available from Frog Peak Music

Adobe PDF file (Please fill out info form)

For the Beauty of the Earth / violin / 10 minutes [OK for broadcast]

A lush violin solo commissioned to be so by Wen Li for the 2007 We Are All Mozart project. However, Wen Li promptly disappeared, leaving a floating composition. Thomas L. Read grabbed it an did a fine performance.

Adobe PDF file (Please fill out info form) YouTube link

The Forest at the South Field / percussionist / 10-60 minutes

A found percussion piece commissioned by Jane Boxall for her Long Trail hike, where she came off the trail to perform concerts. This uses a set of bells and the performer's voice. Available from Frog Peak Music

Adobe PDF file (Please fill out info form)

Hermit of the Furies / violoncello / 7 minutes

Elegant and virtuosic cello solo, commissioned by Robert Blais for the 2007 We Are All Mozart project.

Adobe PDF file (Please fill out info form)

Hjorn / horn / 1 minute

A short but challenging horn solo created for the 15MoF project.Non-streaming (downloadable) MP3.

Adobe PDF file (Please fill out info form) MP3 file

Honey & Hops / clarinet solo / 10 minutes [OK for broadcast]

Written for Steven Klimowski, this work is extracted and recomposed from A Time Machine. The virtuoso piece has since taken on a life of its own, and Klimowski has added it to his permanent repertoire. Note: Score newly engraved by Ronald Krentzman.

Adobe PDF file (Please fill out info form)

In My Room / five guitars with one player / 8 minutes

An especially tricky and very personal composition for five different guitars played by a single person. Commissioned by many friends for Larry Polansky on his birthday for the 2007 We Are All Mozart project.

Adobe PDF file (Please fill out info form) YouTube link

In Search of the Lightness of Horizon / viola / 8 minutes

Second movement of a viola sonata, commissioned by Elizabeth Reid and Robert Bonotto for the 2007 We Are All Mozart project.

Adobe PDF file (Please fill out info form) YouTube link

In Search of the Seven Blue Stars / viola / 8 minutes

First movement of a viola sonata, commissioned by Elizabeth Reid and Robert Bonotto for the 2007 We Are All Mozart project.

Adobe PDF file (Please fill out info form)

Incanta / solo instrument / 1 minute

For collaborative source material for one of her compositions, Incanta was commissioned by Alex Shapiro for the 2007 We Are All Mozart project.

Adobe PDF file (Please fill out info form) YouTube link

iota / violin / 1 minute

A brief, expressive violin encore created for the 15MoF project. Beautifully played here by Daniel Mihai.

MP3 file Adobe PDF file (Please fill out info form) MP3 file MP3 file

Llama Butter / performance piece for tuba & tape / 20 minutes

Word file Written for tubist Mark Nelson, Llama Butter is a half-hour work with optional dance and staging. In its full-blown version, the tubist is cloaked in furs on a stage with flaming torches, playing an all-black tuba. Nelson gave it a brilliant premiere -- but without the painted instrument. Non-streaming (downloadable) video in hi-res Windows media, lo-res Windows media, or lo-res Real media. Available from Frog Peak Music
Llama Butter
Mark Nelson performs "Llama Butter" in Indiana, 1990s. The tuba wasn't painted black, but there were dancers.

Lunar Cascade in Serial Time / tenor guitar / ca. 90 minutes

These are twelve (soon to be thirteen, when the blue moon version is done) performance pieces commissioned by Seth Gordon for the 2007 We Are All Mozart project. One was done for each month, and reflected ideas that might be considered in their performances
Adobe PDF file (Please fill out info form) January
Adobe PDF file (Please fill out info form) February
Adobe PDF file (Please fill out info form) March
Adobe PDF file (Please fill out info form) April
Adobe PDF file (Please fill out info form) May
Adobe PDF file (Please fill out info form) June
Adobe PDF file (Please fill out info form) July
Adobe PDF file (Please fill out info form) August
Adobe PDF file (Please fill out info form) September
Adobe PDF file (Please fill out info form) October
Adobe PDF file (Please fill out info form) November
Adobe PDF file (Please fill out info form) December
Adobe PDF file (Please fill out info form) New Moon

Adobe PDF file (Please fill out info form)

Meta-Dream Once / violin / 5 minutes

First of a set of two virtuosic violin solos based on identical material, commissioned by Thomas L. Read for the 2007 We Are All Mozart project. Non-streaming (downloadable) MP3.

Adobe PDF file (Please fill out info form)

Meta-Dream Twice / violin / 5 minutes [OK for broadcast]

Second of a set of two virtuosic violin solos based on identical material, commissioned by Thomas L. Read for the 2007 We Are All Mozart project.

Adobe PDF file (Please fill out info form)

Morning in Nodar / contrabass with bells / 15 minutes [OK for broadcast]

A marvelously mysterious and virtuous double bass solo with singing and bells, all played by the performer. Commissioned by Tom Peters for the 2007 We Are All Mozart project.

Adobe PDF file (Please fill out info form)

Moving to Lullaby / trombone / 8 minutes

Ritualistic and songful piece for trombone, commissioned for Monique Buzzarté for the 2007 We Are All Mozart project.

Adobe PDF file (Please fill out info form) MP3 file

Noma / easy flute / 2 minutes [OK for broadcast]

Word file Noma was written for a flutist and composition student, Renya Larsen, after an intense two-week workshop in Vermont. I am not sure she ever played it. Available from Frog Peak Music

Adobe PDF file (Please fill out info form) MP3 file

Nordzee: Liliya Study #1 / contrabass / 9 minutes

Study for Northsea Balletic Spicebush, one part of the transformation dance. Like Spicebush, a very difficult piece. All pizzicato. Available from Frog Peak Music

Adobe PDF file (Please fill out info form) MP3 file

Northsea Balletic Spicebush / contrabass / 9 minutes [OK for broadcast]

Written for stunning bassist P. Kellach Waddle (and performed by him in this recording), this is a transformation dance that combines the landscape of Vermont with the North Sea viewed from the island of Terschelling. How does it do it? Intuitively. A very difficult piece, by the way. Available from Frog Peak Music

Adobe PDF file (Please fill out info form) MP3 file

Phylum Euphoria / euphonium and playback / 18 minutes each

This wonderfully evocative Phylum Euphoria was created at the request of Jiri van der Kaay in the Netherlands. In the same realm as Llama Butter, it explores the abilities and timbres of the instruments in a bed or rushing sounds. The MP3 link is for the playback part; there is no performance yet.

Adobe PDF file (Please fill out info form) YouTube link MP3 file

RatGeyser / MalletKat and playback / 8 minutes [OK for broadcast]

Adobe PDF file (Please fill out info form) Word file RatGeyser is a virtuoso piece for MalletKat (or other pitched percussion) and playback, written for composer/performer Michael Manion. The playback CD, as well as a Cakewalk 9 bundle file with samples, is available from the composer. Because of its size, this piece is not available as a Finale ETF file. The second link at the left is for the MalletKat file without the complete sequencer score included. Available from Frog Peak Music
RatGeyser
Michael Manion performs "RatGeyser" in Den Haag, 2003 (Barbara Okma photo).

Adobe PDF file (Please fill out info form)

Sequenza Nova / 12 minutes

Mysterious piece for solo horn with piano overtones, commissioned by Lydia Busler-Blais for the 2007 We Are All Mozart project. Non-streaming (downloadable) MP3.

Adobe PDF file (Please fill out info form) MP3 file

Shahmat / flute / 7 minutes [OK for broadcast]

Written for flutist and composer Su Lian Tan, this is an extended version of the one-minute Noma. The transformations are difficult but elegant, and its idiomatic character make it an idea virtuoso composition for the instrument. Available from Frog Peak Music
Shahmat
Su Lian Tan performs "Shahmat", 2004.

Somnambula / recorder and tape / 90 minutes / hand-inked; new edition in progress

This composition was originally created for the New Jersey State Museum Planetarium, where it was performed by John Burkhalter on soprano and alto recorders. The sound surrounds the listener. John Rockwell of the New York Times called it one of the best works at that year's New York Avant-Garde Fesitval.
Somnambula
The composer performing Somnambula at the New Jersey State Museum, ca. 1977

Adobe PDF file (Please fill out info form)

Sonata / contrabass / 10 minutes / three movements

This quarter-tone sonata was a product of my early, dark days of composition. It is extremely demanding, and has scared away some very good players. Premiere, anyone? Note: If you downloaded this piece before February 10, 2000, please grab the corrected version. The PostScript errors are now fixed. Thanks! Available from Frog Peak Music

Adobe PDF file (Please fill out info form) MP3 file

Sweet Ovals / French horn / 6 minutes [OK for broadcast]

Sweet Ovals was written for the 2005 Vermont Composers Festival and composer/performer Lydia Busler-Blais. A lush piece, it explores the range and effects of the horn with a finely honed beauty. The audio file is of the premiere performance. Available from Frog Peak Music

Adobe PDF file (Please fill out info form)

Thièle / violin / 20 minutes / three movements [OK for broadcast]

MP3 file No. 1.
MP3 file No. 2.
MP3 file No. 3.
A fine violinist and composer, Thomas L. Read once asked if I could actually write a playable piece, one with places to stop, curved lines, and so forth. I obliged with Thièle, a lovely quarter-tone piece in three movements, which Read brilliantly premiered. Available from Frog Peak Music

Adobe PDF file (Please fill out info form)

Three Tiny Prevarications / ukulele / 4 minutes

An unusual non-typical (that is, non-Godfrey) ukulele composition in three movements, commissioned by Larry Polansky for the 2007 We Are All Mozart project.

Adobe PDF file (Please fill out info form)

Time's Arrow / clarinet / 11 minutes

Adobe PDF file (Please fill out info form) Meteoric and virtuosic solo for clarinet, commissioned by Bill Sallak for Anne Watson for the 2007 We Are All Mozart project. Transposed part in link to the left.

Adobe PDF file (Please fill out info form) MP3 file

To the Secretary of Good Fortune / bassoon / 2 minutes

A short solo for basson that is elegant and melodic, based on materials written for 2007 We Are All Mozart project. Available from Frog Peak Music

Adobe PDF file (Please fill out info form)

Toccata and Tryptophan / tenor pan / 6 minutes

Solo tenor pan piece that's altogether too much fun, commissioned by Ed Epstein for the 2007 We Are All Mozart project.

Adobe PDF file (Please fill out info form) MIDI file MP3 file

Vernalty: Liliya Study #2 / contrabass / 9 minutes

Study for Northsea Balletic Spicebush, one part of the transformation dance. Like Spicebush, a very difficult piece, but very melodic throughout. Available from Frog Peak Music

Adobe PDF file (Please fill out info form)

Walking the Flat / alto sax / 4 minutes

A study for approaching the low notes of an alto sax from any & every possible direction, as commissioned by Peter Hamlin for the 2007 We Are All Mozart project.

Adobe PDF file (Please fill out info form) MP3 file

A Waltz: When There Are No Words / bassoon / 5 minutes

The original of this piece is for soprano recorder, written for Claire Manfredonia, but its mood suits the bassoon much better. It is very lyrical and can be played by any sensitive musician.

Adobe PDF file (Please fill out info form)

What do Do, Farmer Gray? / 3 minutes

Entertainment piece with virtuoso tinges, commissioned by Luke Hubley for the 2007 We Are All Mozart project.

Adobe PDF file (Please fill out info form) MP3 file

Windows on the Moon / cello / 15 minutes / four continuous movements

A virtuoso cello piece indeed, this was written for former baby doctor and now luthier Thurmond Knight, who found it extremely unfriendly to his technique. Very beautiful, Windows awaits its premiere. Available from Frog Peak Music

Adobe PDF file (Please fill out info form) MP3 file

Yer Attention, Please / organ / 9 minutes

Carson Cooman is one of the most dedicated contemporary organists and composers. He commissioned Yer Attention, Please, and got his hands (and feet) full. This is a powerful and virtuoso work that will shake the rafters. Available from Frog Peak Music

Adobe PDF file (Please fill out info form)

The Big Fipple / 25 pieces for recorder ensembles

Adobe PDF file (Please fill out info form) Almost Not in Progress arranged for quartet
Adobe PDF file (Please fill out info form) MP3 file Cakewalk for duet
Adobe PDF file (Please fill out info form) Curtain for quartet, from Incidental Music to "Lysistrata"
Adobe PDF file (Please fill out info form) MP3 file Doo-Be-Doot Duet
Adobe PDF file (Please fill out info form) MP3 file Garbanzo Bean in its original quintet arrangement
Adobe PDF file (Please fill out info form) MP3 file Miniature for soprano solo
Adobe PDF file (Please fill out info form) Numa arranged from the piano piece
Adobe PDF file (Please fill out info form) MP3 file Rag Rag for duet
Adobe PDF file (Please fill out info form) Saba arranged from the vocal piece
Sanonic Conatas for duet in five movements
Adobe PDF file (Please fill out info form) MP3 file Conata #1
Adobe PDF file (Please fill out info form) MP3 file Conata #2
Adobe PDF file (Please fill out info form) MP3 file Conata #3
Adobe PDF file (Please fill out info form) MP3 file Conata #4
Adobe PDF file (Please fill out info form) MP3 file Conata #5
Adobe PDF file (Please fill out info form) The Two-Minute Sneeze arranged from the wind trio version
MP3 file Suite for quartet in six movements
Adobe PDF file (Please fill out info form) No. 1
Adobe PDF file (Please fill out info form) No. 2
Adobe PDF file (Please fill out info form) No. 3
Adobe PDF file (Please fill out info form) No. 4
Adobe PDF file (Please fill out info form) No. 5
Adobe PDF file (Please fill out info form) No. 6
Adobe PDF file (Please fill out info form) MP3 file Table Scraps for duet
Adobe PDF file (Please fill out info form) Unopposed Duet
Adobe PDF file (Please fill out info form) Waltz in No Time in the original trio version
Adobe PDF file (Please fill out info form) MP3 file when there are no words in its original soprano solo version
A collection of my favorite pieces composed for my own ensembles, Fipple has dances and songs of all kinds, and a six-movement suite as well. A downloadable version will be available soon, but don't hesitate to order the score. A bargain -- a quarter a piece! Available from Frog Peak Music Note that the mp3 demos are arranged for a variety of wind orchestrations -- a little fun.


Dennis Báthory-Kitsz

Reviews and Comments

General Comments
  • "In case you've not heard Dennis Bathory-Kitsz's music - he's on soundcloud now. I know that the relentlessly hip claim that there's no real composers anymore and that everything written large is for movies or commercials - but this fellow is a living composer that does a wide range of excellent work. Take a bit of time to check out what he does and reassure yourself that art is alive."

    --Pamela Zero, composer, on Facebook

  • "Dennis Bathory-Kitsz is an eclectic listening station all by himself!"

    --David's Eclectic Listening on mp3.com

  • "Wow. Here is a wildly eclectic, erratic, difficult, staggeringly prolific contemporary composer with 500 pieces to his name. His music ranges from medieval-influenced brass quintets to elaborately staged Avant-Garde multimedia experiences. One piece is exclusively performed by an army of forty car and truck horns honking away to a score on a flatbed truck! Bathory-Kitsz also writes in a more identifiably modernist classical vein, with harp duets, oboe solos, and choral passages. Some pieces incorporate drone with classical counterpoint techniques. He's written a suite for quarter-tone violin; it sounds almost like a Western scale, but ever so different...and eerie. He's even written a chamber opera, whose regular, pounding drumbeats and choral passages evoke a witches' sabbat. Finally, he has written some works for electronic instruments, which in their repetition of vocal snippets, percussive noises, and electronic drone recall early Steve Reich. Bathory-Kitsz's music encompasses the entire European classical tradition in its scope; it's well worth the listen."

    --Noah Enelow, on Listen.com

Specific Compositions (alpahbetical)
  • Air: "I think that is a particularly wonderful piece. I like every second of it, and I do not at all mind the repetitions. These are not gratuitous repetitions. Air is a most inspired, imaginative, successful piece. All kinds of wonders unfold all the time, from start to finish. It's my favorite new piece of yours."

    --Noah Creshevsky, composer

  • Ave Verum Corpus: "It's a work of great beauty. It's moving and it's wonderful. Very beautiful, plus an entire course in voice-leading and harmony could be taught from this piece, and I would be happy to teach that course. Most of all, it's wonderful to hear (and certainly a pleasure for them to perform, too)."

    --Noah Creshevsky, composer

  • bellyloops: "According to my personal interpretation, this is a 'field recording' of someone being chased by a chupacabra. Just when he thinks he has lost the monster and everything will be okay, it reappears suddenly and pounces and...the rest is pretty grisly, so I will leave it up to your imagination (as does the composer)."

    --Rain God's Picks on mp3.com

  • Brand 9 From Outer Space: "Journey to this fellow's page, and you'll find --among much else, a lot of it very tasty-- a couple of car horn symphonies, which (if I'm reading the notes correctly) were performed and conducted in a parking lot in Trenton, New Jersey, with an orchestraconsisting of... parked cars. THIS piece isn't like that. But it's real good anyway, despite the fact that the musicians are all playing actual musical instruments. And if you'd like to play along, there's a link that will allow you to download the score."

    --Radio Plan 9 on mp3.com

  • Car Horn Symphony No. 1: "beep beep beep. you CAN make music out of ANYTHING, anywhere."

    --myra ellen moo's fluffy thingie on mp3.com

  • Car Horn Symphony No. 2: "I own a CD featuring a Car Horn Organ. This is not that, not even similar in fact, but the point is that yes, car horns make perfectly good musical instruments. The evidence accumulates, in spite of the not entirely pleasant circumstances under which we often hear them. Dennis says he had a lot of fun writing this. It sounds like the players and conductor had a lot of fun. Now the only missing ingredient is YOU. Listen and I think you will have fun, too!"

    --Rain God's Picks on mp3.com

  • Crosscut: "Crosscut is a 20-minute concerto for piano and winds with a gratifying shape: the three movements are loud/soft/loud, but contain enough recurring figures to suggest the sense of a one-movement work. Once again, the piece starts off with rather minimalist repeated chords and arpeggios, but becomes so rhythmically complex in the piano and dissonant in the brass as to gradually give a more muscular impression. Then, after an abrupt cutoff comes an almost stationary slow movement with a couple of rhythmically complex figures that keep recurring every few measures. The unity they produce is remarkable, though the repetitions are too complex to become predictable. The third movement smoothly quotes material from both its predecessors. If Bathory-Kitsz’s style varies considerably from work to work, each movement is always unified by a clear concept.".

    --Kyle Gann, Chamber Music Magazine

  • Csárdás: "Immediately compelling ... The almost demonic qualities and grand proportions of the work evoke memories of ... Franz Liszt."

    --Barre-Montpelier Times-Argus

  • Detritus of Mating: "Adding to the [Pavel Kraus at Bond Gallery] show's ambience was a sound component, an almost ecclesiastical compositon with several movements of altered voices by new-music composer and frequent Kraus collaborator Dennis Bathory-Kitsz"

    --Edward Leffingwell, Art in America

    "At the deepest level this music lulls and intrigues, irritates and begs your answers. Ambient for sure ... further than that, always. Growing and moving, wiggling in your ears, this sound creates a basket of safety and insecurity. Knowledge of gods and goddesses way back coming through present life."

    --Difficult Listening on RTR Radio, Perth

    "Those addicted to the new-music radio show and Web site Bathory-Kitsz cohosts will find interest in his sound sculpture, a sample of which is caught here. Glistening tones ring in the air, bits of deconstructed voices float by, a dark bass pulse starts up that's more felt than heard, in large-scale periodic cycles that would replicate the opening if allowed to continue for some 27 years. You don't get a distinct idea of his creative personality from this first disc, but it's enjoyable how the exquisite rings continually modulate even when nothing seems to be happening."

    --Kyle Gann, The Village Voice

  • Emerald Canticles, Below:
    "There is an ethereal quality to the accompaniment resulting in an effect that is indeed surreal. But, rather than atmospheric, the work is made of clearly delineated lines that, with the work's tightly knit rhythms, lead it to a dramatic climax and coda. The new work proved difficult listening..., but ultimately fascinating."

    --Barre-Montpelier Times-Argus

    "What can I say but nice music!"

    --Contemporary New Music Radio on mp3.com

  • Erzsébet: "A powerful new one-woman opera... The overall effect was powerful, due in large part to the evocative music. The soprano vocal line ranged from lyrical to edgy to forcefully spoken. This was accompanied by a score that ranged from Medieval and Renaissance styles to Hungarian folk melodies to uncomfortable edgy atonal atmospheric moments, all woven itno a very effective whole. The production was sophisticated and elegant."

    --Barre-Montpelier Times-Argus

    "It sounds terrific: colorful, mysterious, and very operatic."

    --Lisa Hirsch The Iron Tongue of Midnight

  • L'Estampie du Chevalier: "Bathory-Kitsz can also exhibit intense single-mindedness. One of my favorite of his works is his third string quartet titled L’Estampie du Chevalier (2005), a breezy essay in endless melody. Two of the strings (and which two they are keeps changing) are always playing a duo melody in ever-changing note values with insouciant disregard for the bar line, while the other two appear and disappear, punctuating or filling in with running eighth notes or pizzicato double-stops. It’s a single thirteen-minute idea played out with very little change yet continually self-renewing variety, one of the most unified quartet movements you’ll ever hear."

    --Kyle Gann, Chamber Music Magazine

  • Eventide: "Perhaps the most colorful use of the instruments was by ... composer Dennis B&aathory-Kitsz ... the three pieces form his eight-part "Eventide" employed piccolo, small clarinet and contrabassoon. The composer explored the contrasting sounds emanating from this unusual combination in a surprisingly consonant and attractive way. The moods ranged from hauntingly beautiful to exciting."

    --Barre-Montpelier Times-Argus

  • Exequy: "A dark and powerful homage ... a strident brass shell driven from within by quieter, more complex and precise sounds."

    --Barre-Montpelier Times-Argus

  • Fanfare:Heat: "Bathory-Kitsz's "Fanfare: Heat," written for the VYO, was also complex. At some 11 minutes long, it's a short work but a lot happens. Opening brilliantly, it begins a journey, first a turgid one, then a more joyful one, building all the time to a brilliant finale. The harmonic language and rhythms were spicy and occasionally jarring, but Peters and his young players managed them with feeling. It was quite exciting."

    --Barre-Montpelier Times-Argus

  • For Fog is the Promise of Cloud: "It's very beautiful. There's a wonderful sense of acceptance at the end, and i would not have been surprised if that had not happened, although it's encouraging (and beautiful) that it does move to that resolution. I often think 'glacial' in connection with your music, but I don't mean cold. I mean massive, like sculpture. Worldly and other-worldly too. That is, of this world and also of another (hypothetical) world. This piece has quite an overt schizophrenic aesthetic, simultaneously aligning contrasting kinds of musical gestures."

    --Noah Creshevsky, composer

  • Fuliginous Quadrant: "Fuliginous Quadrant for violin, cello, clarinet, and piano is written almost entirely in the A-harmonic-minor scale, yet every one of its texturally varied phrases cadences on a high F in the violin, which really messes with your large-scale perception of the tonality."

    --Kyle Gann, Chamber Music Magazine

  • I think of thee!: "It’s most unusual, when there is music by justly famous composers on a program, that the highlight of a concert is a new work by a local composer. But that’s just what happened at Friday’s Vermont Virtuosi concert, “Poetic License,” at Montpelier’s Bethany Church. Northfield composer Dennis Báthory-Kitsz’s “I Think of Thee!” which received its premiere, proved a beautiful and powerful experience. Báthory-Kitsz set the Elizabeth Barrett Browning poem, from “Songs of the Portuguese XXIX,” unusually for soprano, bass flute and guitar, hence a truly exotic feel. More importantly, the work exudes the rich depth of emotion of the poem. Soprano Gail Whitehouse delivered the simple lyrical melody line with a quietly nuanced expressiveness. Underscoring that line was the soft bassoon-like warmth of Laurel Ann Maurer’s bass flute and the driving punctuation of Peter Matthews’ guitar. What made this largely tonal song riveting were the richly undulating sounds of the bass flute and guitar behind the haunting but inviting vocal line."

    --Barre-Montpelier Times-Argus

    Your song is a beauty! I like everything about it, like the melody, harmony, florid rhythms (how masterfully you do that), and the exceptional degree of independence between the parts.

    --Noah Creshevsky, composer

  • Icecut: "He was full of energy and excitement, which would be a good way to describe his piece "Icecut," too. The music had some demanding string writing, which the players handled like a shortstop making a tough play look easy. I was really thrilled to hear such high quality music."

    --David Ludwig, composer, in his blog

    "It was Bathory-Kitsz's 10-minute work, commissioned by the VSO, that proved most striking. Beginning with a darkly driving force of strings, the brass introduces a haunting melody, then taken up by the strings; the strings subside, becoming a restless bed for the exuberant brass; the cellos take over, receding to a quiet but relentless agitation so a gentle woodwind melody can be heard above; the violins take over with cellos and basses continuing to provide a driving rhythm; all builds to a grand moment – then subsides and fades out. ... The work proved compelling, and its nature could easily have been inspired by Vermont's difficult winters. The work is largely tonal and accessible despite some intricate writing. But most important, its driving force – loud or quiet – compels the listener to go along for the ride, a quite exciting one."

    --Barre-Montpelier Times-Argus

  • Into the Morning Rain:
    "A masterpiece worthy of Stravinsky."

    --Louis Moyse

    Broadcast January 17, 2001, on Dutch Radio 4 Live, "A New Stage"
    "A fascinating and earthy work ... its quiet drive and gentle rhythm seduced the listener into an almost primal state. Báthory-Kitsz continues to be one of the state's most fascinating and sophisticated composers."

    --Barre-Montpelier Times-Argus

    "This is an A-1 Blue-ribbon piece of music. Download it!"

    --Psycronic Oscillations on mp3.com

  • The Lily and the Thorn: "The audience warmly applauded the difficult and modern work ... after the concert, people could be heard talking about the new work throughout the hall."

    --Barre-Montpelier Times-Argus

  • LiquidBirds: "LiquidBirds proved beautiful in its sound and sound movement. ... This work, like most of the composer's, had the feel of form, and gave the listener something to hold onto. The result was beautiful music."

    --Barre-Montpelier Times-Argus

  • Llama Butter: "Nothing even comes close to the uniqueness of Llama Butter... It is a fascinating study in multi-media for the tuba... New music fans would love this work and it deserves more performances."

    --Mark Nelson, Tuba Review

  • LowBirds: "Wind and piano gestures flit through this 'mysterious soundscape.'"

    --Chamber Music Features on mp3.com

  • Meta-Dream Twice: "Although a knotty work, its linear simplicty and straightforward nature made it attractive and rewarding."

    --Barre-Montpelier Times-Argus

  • Mirrored Birds: "It would be possible for a 30-minute piece that lacks the formal trappings of melodic development (or even much melody at all) to be, well, boring. But [the composer's] 'Mirrored Birds' didn't strike us that way at all. ... the horns and especially the timpani were extremely busy (in a quiet way) ... the flute solo was a virtual sonic aviary of birdcall."

    --The Herald of Randolph

  • Mountain Dawn Fanfare: "Start your day the mountain way, with this serene fanfare for winds."

    --Symphonic Features on mp3.com

  • Mountains of Spices: "Lovely!"

    --Alison Cerutti, pianist.

  • No Money (Lullaby for Bill): "A symphonic piece made entirely out of a speech by bill gates by a very talented composer."

    --Recombinant Sounds on mp3.com

  • O
    "En perle fra øresneglen! Marvellous collaboration & a masterpiece!"

    --Anne Sophie Bertelsen, composer

    "Dennis Báthory-Kitsz ... known for his thorny music, surprised with the premiere of his ethereally beautiful 'O: 11 Choruses,' of which seven were performed. Here again, a wide variety of styles was employed in these settings of poems by Gary Barwin. ... interior machinations — often very complex — flowed under the music’s seemingly tonal flow. 'The Birds' was hauntingly lyrical; quietly clashing harmonies made 'Sparrow’s Song' haunting; a sustained bass by the men with lyricism from the women above made 'Fish' 'swim'; and the music of the text created the final chorale of 'Regret.'

    --Rutland Herald

  • O Vox Pop
    "The VCME premiered one of its own commissions, 'O Vox Pop,' a spicy confection by Northfield composer Dennis Báthory-Kitsz. Klimowski on bass clarinet and Elliott on bassoon enjoyed the wonderful colors of the lyrical first part, as well as the light chase of the second. It was more than fun it was expertly written."

    --Barre-Montpelier Times-Argus

    "Largely uncharacteristic of the skillful composer, best know for his well-crafted but complex and difficult music, the two-movemente work ... was lovely and lyrical -- but, of course, not all that simple."

    --Barre-Montpelier Times-Argus

  • Somnambula: "The best works [at the New York Avant-Garde Festival] were the biggest and the smallest... [The composer] sat far out in a field playing a recorder, accompanied by a tinny cassette machine... The effect was like a Chinese Pan."

    --John Rockwell, The New York Times

  • Sourian Slide:
    "Sublimely beautiful is the only way to describe Sourian Slide for strings ... also heard for the first time ... it builds quietly and achieves a quiet but powerful drama with ne'er a loud note. Pretty tonal for Bathory-Kitsz, who frequently writes difficult and cutting-edge music, Sourian Slide is splendidly written."

    --Barre-Montpelier Times-Argus

    "Lose yourself in this..."

    --Consolations on mp3.com

  • Starry Night "Another big success was the premiere of Northfield composer Dennis Báthory-Kitsz’s hauntingly beautiful 2007 “Starry Night.” The atmospheric work opens with dark bass notes setting the scene, with “stars” appearing and “sparkling”, asymmetrically working their way through the night. Pepper showed real sensitivity toward this short but attractive work, using excellent tonal control descriptively.

    --Barre-Montpelier Times-Argus

  • Teething Rings: "A room full of screaming babies and a nanny with not enough teething rings to go around. An avant-garde 'classic' in the fluxus tradition."

    --There is No Radio on mp3.com

  • Thièle: "Clearly the work that stretched its audience the most was Kitsz's powerful Thièle for quarter-tone violin. [It] took some getting used to. People do get used to it: Some even thought that the slow movement was traditionally whole- and half-tone..."

    --Barre-Montpelier Times-Argus

  • A Time Machine: "[The] composer went for broke with [the] ambitious work for nine musicians that alternates sung verse with orchestral improv, ancient sounds and avant-garde ones."

    --Burlington Free Press

Dennis Báthory-Kitsz (ASCAP) is recorded on Ursa Minor, Frog Peak Music, Malted/Media, Three's Film Works, PressTheButton, and Capstone Records

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