Stele for large orchestra was commissioned by the Berliner Philharmoniker and has been dedicated to and premiered by Claudio Abbado and the Berliner Philharmoniker in 1994, in Kurtág's second year of staying at the Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin. The grave stone or memorial stone, that Stele actually means is for the Hungarian composer and conductor András Mihály (1917-1993). Mihály taught chamber music (perticularly masterclasses for string quartets) at the Academy of Music in Budapest. He was one of the most influential teachers of the era and Kurtág regularly attended his classes. From András Mihály he got lifetime inspiration both as a composer and teacher. The core movement of Stele is the third one, based on an earlier work for piano solo "In memoriam András Mihály", composed immediately after Mihály's death, published as the last piece of the sixth volume of Games.

The new edition of 2024 is published with new engraving.