This three-disc set gathers all of György Kurtág's works for ensemble and for ensemble and choir, performed by Asko|Schönberg and the Netherlands Radio Choir under Reinbert de Leeuw. The pieces run in order of composition, from the Four Capriccios (1959-1970, revised 1993) to the Brefs Messages of 2011. Heard in sequence, they trace half a century of the Hungarian composer's thinking in small, exactly weighed forms. It is the first time this part of his output has been collected in one place.

De Leeuw described the project as learning Kurtág's music step by step and performing it repeatedly over twenty years. The sessions took place between March 2013 and July 2016 at the Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ in Amsterdam and the Philharmonie in Haarlem, produced by Manfred Eicher and Guido Tichelman. De Leeuw consulted György and Márta Kurtág before and after each session, and re-recorded fragments or whole pieces at their request. The soloists include soprano Natalia Zagorinskaya, bass Harry van der Kamp, cellist Jean-Guihen Queyras and guitarist Elliott Simpson, among others.

In Grabstein für Stephan (1978-79, revised 1989) a softly strummed guitar sits at the centre, while instruments placed around it add colour and, midway, a sudden dramatic outburst. Messages of the late Miss R. Troussova (1976-80) sets poems by Rimma Dalos in a chain of very short movements whose imaginary heroine swings between emotional extremes. The Double Concerto, Op. 27 No. 2 (1989-90), pits piano and cello against two ensembles spread in space, the cello surprisingly lyrical against heavy piano chords. The choir comes forward in Songs of Despair and Sorrow (1980-1994) and in the late Colindă-Baladă.

In The Guardian, Andrew Clements gave the set five stars. He found it "performed with devotional precision and commitment" by the players and their conductor. Richard Fairman of the Financial Times called it definitive and wrote that the musicians "excel in all". Robert Hugill, reviewing it on his Planet Hugill site in 2017, described it as a labour of love and a brilliant survey of the composer's work.

This is the 3CD edition, ECM New Series 2505-07, released in June 2017 on ECM New Series. A card slipcase holds three card sleeves and a 92-page booklet. It contains the sung texts in translation, an interview with De Leeuw, notes by Wolfgang Sandner and Paul Griffiths, and a statement by the composer.