| With the passing of Gyorgy Ligeti on 12 June, 2006 at the age of 83 in Vienna following a lengthy illness, the musical world has lost a true maverick. An independent thinker, Ligeti charted a singular route in his music with the evolution of a voice that is hard to ignore. In this respect one is tempted to put him alongside figures such as Boulez, Cage, Stockhausen and Xenakis when considering the major shapers of late 20th century composition. The Wire (p.51) - "At the core of Ligeti's development was a series of orchestral works, each instalment marking the opening of anew phase....'String Quartet No 2' is, of course, a masterwork..." . . this release . . . amply demonstrates the vivid, adventurous and puckishly individual contribution that Ligeti made to late-20th-century music. Alongside the better-known 'clouds', those great, luminous, drifting fogbanks of colour and harmony shot through with solar flares of extreme timbres and registers, the clarity and precision of the early chamber music provide intriguing clues to his later development, whilst the most recent work included . . . offers us clear proof that he never stopped creating unexpected and fascinating sounds and gestures.
Record Review / Barry Witherden, BBC Music Magazine (London) / 01 December 2006 |
ARTISTS
Disc: 1
1. Sonata for Solo Cello--Matt Haimovitz, cello;
2. Six Bagatelles for Wind Quintet--Members of the Chamber Orchestra of Europe;
3. String Quartet no. 1 "Métamorphoses nocturnes"--Hagen Quartet;
4. Ten Pieces for Wind Quintet--Vienna Brass Soloists;
5. String Quartet No. 2--LaSalle Quartet
Disc: 2
1. Atmosphères for large orchestra--Vienna Philharmonic, Claudio Abbado;*
2. Volumina for organ--Gerd Zacher, organ;
3. Lux aeterna for 16 voices--Choir of North German Radio Hamburg;
4. Organ Study no. 1 "Harmonies"--Gerd Zacher, organ;
5. Lontano for orchestra--Vienna Philharmonic, Claudio Abbado;*
6. Ramifications for strings--Ensemble Intercontemporain, Pierre Boulez;
7. Melodien for Orchestra--London Sinfonietta, David Atherton
Disc: 3
1. Aventures--Ensemble Intercontemporain, Pierre Boulez; Nouvelles
2. Aventures--Ensemble Intercontemporain, Pierre Boulez;
3. Cello Concerto--Jean-Guihen Queyras, cello; Ensemble Intercontemporain, Pierre Boulez;
4. Chamber Concerto--Ensemble Intercontemporain, Pierre Boulez;
5. Mysteries of the Macabre--Hakan Hardenberger, trumpet;
6. Double Concerto for Flute and Oboe--Members of the Chamber Orchestra of Europe*
Disc: 4
1. The Big Turtle Fanfare from the South China Sea--Alfons & Aloys Kontarsky, pianos;
2. Monument-Self-portrait-Movement--Alfons & Aloys Kontarsky, pianos;
3. Piano Study no. 2 "Cordes à vide"--Gianluca Cascioli, piano;
4. Piano Study no. 4 "Fanfares" Gianluca Cascioli, piano;
5. Piano Concerto--Pierre-Laurent Aimard, piano;
6. Violin Concerto--Saschko Gawriloff, violin; Ensemble Intercontemporain, Pierre Boulez |