Kurtág's String Quartet, from 1959, is a significant enough work in his output that he deemed it his opus 1. Just as Berg's opus 1 (the magnificent Piano Sonata) marked the end of his formal studies and the beginning of a new stage in his life, compositionally and otherwise, Kurtág's Quartet followed the end of his formal studies and (like Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto #2) was dedicated to his therapist after an intense depressive period. Even for such an "early" work—the term is relative, as he was 33 at the time of composition—the writing is startlingly original and leaves an indelible impression on the listener. Here is an excerpt from the beautiful and haunting second movement.