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Ligeti - Chamber Music

Composer György Ligeti
Performer Gunilla von Bahr
Torleif Lännerholm
Eva Nordwall
Liisa Pohjola
Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra
Voces Intimae String Quartet
Elgar Howarth, conductor
Period Contemporary
Catalogue Number BIS-53 CD
EAN 7318590000533
Format CD
Release date Jan 1987
Total time 75'00

This album presents five pivotal works by György Ligeti, reflecting the evolution of his compositional voice from post-war experimentation to internationally recognized innovation.

Metamorphoses nocturnes (1953–54), Ligeti’s String Quartet No. 1, shows the influence of Bartók, Berg, and Stravinsky, but also hints at the distinct micropolyphonic style he would later develop. Built as a seamless chain of contrasting sections, the piece begins with a tiny motif that grows through chromatic, often ironic, transformations.

Musica ricercata (1951–53) is a suite of piano studies exploring sound from minimal beginnings. The first movement uses only one pitch class (A), with each successive movement gradually introducing more tones, culminating in a full twelve-tone exploration by the end—an early and boldly original response to Ligeti’s creative isolation in postwar Hungary.

Continuum (1968) for harpsichord is a relentless prestissimo piece, only four minutes long but technically and aurally intense. It pushes the limits of performer and instrument to blur the line between discrete notes and continuous sound, yielding a hypnotic, tightly compressed musical world.

Double Concerto (1971–72) for flute, oboe, and orchestra introduces microintervals and coloristic innovation. The two movements contrast restrained beauty with a virtuosic, almost surreal climax, requiring advanced techniques and creating a glowing, high-tension soundscape.

San Francisco Polyphony (1973–74) culminates Ligeti’s shift toward transparent, graphically conceived polyphony. Its diverging melodic lines evoke both chaos and structure, producing a dazzling orchestral texture that is dry, precise, and rigorously crafted.

Supervised and approved by Ligeti himself, these recordings capture the composer’s journey from dense chromatic webs to lucid, multidimensional sonic landscapes.
 
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  György Ligeti
  Double Concerto for Flute and Oboe (1971) 12'23
01 I. Calmo, con tenerezza 6'29
02 II. Allegro corrente 5'54
 
03 San Fransisco Polyphony (1973-74) 10'23
 
04 String Quartet No.1, Métamorphoses nocturnes (1953-54) 21'12
 
05 Continuum für Cembalo (1968) 3'29
 
  Musica Ricercata, for piano (1951-53) 25'51
06 I. Sostenuto - Stringendo - Prestissimo - Sostenuto 2'41
07 II. Mesto. Parlando - Più mosso - Tempo I 3'31
08 III. Allegro con spirito 1'06
09 IV. Tempo di valse (poco animato) 1'58
10 V. Rubato, Lamentoso 3'03
11 VI. Allegro un poco capriccioso 0'37
12 VII. Quieto (poco rubato). Cantabile. Molto legato - 3'12
13 VIII. Presto energico 0'56
14 IX. Adagio. Mesto - Allegro maestoso - Più mosso. Agitato -Tempo I (B. Bartók in memoriam) 2'54
15 X. Vivace. Capriccioso 1'16
16 XI. Andante misurato e tranquillo (Omaggio a G. Frescobaldi) 4'37
 
  Album total 75'00
ComposerLigeti, György
FluteBahr, Gunilla von
ConductorHowarth, Elgar
OboeLannerholm (Lännerholm), Torleif
OrchestraSwedish Radio Symphony Orchestra (Sveriges Radios Symfoniorkester)
EnsembleVoces Intimae Quartet
HarpsichordNordwall, Eva
PianoPohjola, Liisa

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