Customer Reviews

György Ligeti Edition 1: String Quartets and Duets - Arditti String Quartet

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Sony's "Gyorgy Ligeti Edition 1: String Quartets and Duos" is the first disc of the 13-volume series--continued after the 8th installment by Teldec's "The Ligeti Project"---of Gyorgy Ligeti's collected works in performances overseen by the composer itself. It collects his impressive two strings quartets, a brief birthday greeting to another composer, a work inspired by an ethnomusical stint in Romania, and another early work. The works are performed by the Arditti Quartet, who have done so much to provide satisfying and lasting performances of modern string repetoire.

String Quartet No. 1 ("Metamorphoses nocturnes") was written between 1953 and 1954, as the composer was struggling to express himself creatively in Stalinist Hungary. The work shows clear inspiration from Bartok's third and fourth quartets, which Ligeti knew only from their score as they had been suppressed. Similarly, Ligeti had no hope his own work would be performed, and it was written essentially "for his desk drawer". Ironically, when Ligeti submitted the piece to a Western competition, it was deemed too traditional for recognition. This first string quartet is a study in the juxtaposition of unlike sections; under a thin verneer of normality, the music is heterogenous. I think this is a fine work, and it is one of the composer's few pre-emigration pieces that do not sound like juvenalia in comparison with his later works.

String Quartet No. 2 (1968) was composed long after Ligeti's move to the West and so is entirely avant-garde, linked with the techniques of his other works of the 1960's. Ligeti was quite proud of this piece, claiming it as his favourite of his works of the time, and feeling that he had made a permanent contribution to the string quartet tradition. The work is indeed a part of his micropolyphonic style of the 1960's, but there is a great deal more here. It is a twitching, paranoid, nervous, neurotic piece with a grimy, constantly shifting texture, like the soundtrack to a Kafka story. It really must be heard to be believed, and this second quartet is the high point of this disc.

"Hommage a Hilding Rosenburg" for violin and cello (1982) is a short birthday greeting to that Swedish composer. It is the least important work on the disc and is really nothing more than something of a fanfare.

"Balada si joc" for two violins (Romanian "Ballad and dance", 1950) is a short string duet inspired by Ligeti's time spent in Romania collecting folk music during his music studies. The result uses no actual folk material, but is an authentic imitation of the music Ligeti encountered both in his boyhood and in his return to Transylvania at this later time. When it was later expanded to use an orchestra, it became the first two movements of his "Concert Romanesc" (found on "The Ligeti Project II"). The string duet, however, manages to create with but two instruments nearly the same moving passion as the later orchestration. The following "Andante and Allegretto" for string quartet (1950) is another early work, again inspired by folk music. It is not as successful as "Balada si joc", indeed even forgettable.

While there are other recordings of these works available, such as the recent recordings reissued in Deutsche Grammaphon's "Echo 20/21" series, this performance by the Arditti Quartet can certainly be seen as definitive. It takes a lot of talent to please Ligeti, one of the most demanding composers, especially in a crushingly difficult work like the second string quartet.

While I think "Gyorgy Ligeti Edition 3: Piano Works" or "The Ligeti Project IV" are better places to begin on this series of Ligeti's collected works, this set of string works should be one of the first Ligeti works you buy, especially for the String Quartet No. 2.

This recording is my first venture into the chamber music of Ligeti, though I have loved the orchestral and choral music for years. This is a beautiful recording of some of the most important string music of the last 50 years comparable in originality only to the Scelsi quartet cycle.

String Quartet No. 1 was written under the influence of the Bartok middle period quartets, though Ligeti only knew them from the scores, as they were banned under communist rule. Though the Bartok influence can be heard in the first quartet, this is Ligeti's own music, not Bartok's. The work succeeds on it's own merits. It's formally adventurous and the melodic motives are striking.

The real reason to get this CD is the Quartet No. 2. This later work extends Ligeti's method of micropolyphony to the chamber medium with spectacular results. The work is no longer about melody harmony and form...rather it is a work that transforms from texture to texture, rather like an electronic piece. It is aurally stunning and deeply emotional, not something that most avent-gardists manage to pull off well.

The disc is rounded off by a duet for two stringed instruments and two folk inspired pieces from Ligeti's early career in Romania. They are delightful, if not as important as the string quartets.

If you are a fan of avant-garde string music, buy this CD...now!You might also enjoy the boxed set of the string quartets of Gianocinto Scelsi. Ligeti and Scelsi went in parallel directions musically, and though the results are different, they are mutually enlightening.

György Ligeti se está convirtiendo en los últimos años en el "principal compositor vivo", tras los fallecimientos de Messiaen y Lutoslawsky. Sin duda, Ligeti cuenta con todos los merecimientos para recibir este honor: amplio catálogo, voz propia, variedad, calidad y "cierta accesibilidad". Los cuartetos que aquí nos ocupan forman parte del núcleo fuerte de su obra. Ya se ha dicho repetidamente la filiación del primero "Metamorfosis Nocturnas" respecto de los últimos cuartetos de Bartók, llegando a afirmarse que podría pasar por el séptimo de éste último. En cuanto al segundo cuarteto es un alarde de inventiva a la par que un completo resumen de las inquietudes del húngaro durante la década de los sesenta, utilizando procedimientos que ya hallamos en muchas de sus obras orquestales de la época. Cada movimiento es un mundo aparte y muestra a las claras que vanguardismo, calidad y capacidad de fascinación no son conceptos excluyentes. ¿Qué decir del Arditti Quartet, única formación que, hasta el momento, se ha atrevido con ambas obras?. Se trata de una interpretación magistral, superior a la que ya ofrecieron en su grabación para el sello Wergo hace ya algunos años. Además este disco incluido en la serie Ligeti Edition incluye algunos piezas menores no grabadas hasta este momento que aumentan su atractivo. Por cierto ¿a qué se debe el parón de esta serie?. En prácticamente dos años solamente ha salido al mercado la nueva versión de la ópera "El gran macabro".

This Ligeti Edition disc collects all three of Ligeti's works for string quartet -- No. 1 and No. 2 each approximately 20 minutes long -- plus two string duets. The Arditti Quartet is stunning as always. Most striking is the contrast between the String Quartet No. 1 from 1953-54, which was inspired by Bartok's Third and Fourth, according to Ligeti's liner notes, and the String Quartet No. 2 from 1968, an expression of Ligeti's mature style. Of this work, Ligeti says "[t]here is no longer any motivic writing...no contours, only sound textures, which are sometimes frayed and almost fluid...and at other times grainy and machine-like..." The two closing pieces are from 1950, and are both delightful, if not groundbreaking -- a sweet conclusion to a feast of dense, difficult and rewarding 20th century music!

I discovered Ligeti's music not from the film score of "2001: A Space Odyssey" as many of my contemporaries have, but by browsing the 20th Century record bins and coming across his Wergo release of "Lantano" and his "Requiem" (now, of course, on rather expensive import CD). I took a chance. I'm glad I did. Eventually, these two pieces became my favorite two pieces of music regardless of genre. I then came to realize that his was the music used in the movie. I've since amassed a fairly large collection of his music.

I've listened to the Deutsche Grammophon analog recording of String Quartet No. 2 for years. With this newer digitally recorded CD, expertly played by the Arditti Quartet, so many things come to light that have been previously obscured.

It's difficult to find something to add to the reviews that appear below. It is just that if you are a fan of Ligeti's music, you will surely take pleasure in this CD. My favorite piece on the CD is, of course, String Quartet No. 2, but it might just be its familiarity that makes it more enjoyable.

One of the things I like most about Ligeti's music is his originality. He doesn't seem to fit into any genre that I'm familiar with. Yes, I'm sure there are others that are adept at writing microtonal compositions. But his consistency is incredible, and this CD helps prove that.

One of the very best contemporary string recordings. The music is accessible, and spans a long time frame, so you can hear how Ligeti has progressed. Needless to say, the Arditti Quartet's playing is excellent.

What can I say. These pieces by Gyorgy Ligeti are superb. The Arditti Quartet do an amazing job of bringing these pieces across in an intelligible way. Some people find modern classical music confusing or difficult as it doesn't follow the traditional rules of rhyme and rythmn however the Arditti do an amazing job of fleshing out all of the emotion. After they are done you know you have listened to an exceptional piece of music. The playing is at times stunning.I recommend starting with the "andante and allegretto", which represent his early work, first, and then moving to String Quartet No. 1 and then No.2. This will help condition your ear (and brain) and gives you a nice sense of the evolution in Ligeti's work. It also leads your mind into the more difficult string quartets easily and gently. Very highly recommended and a must have for fans of modern repertoire or beginners looking for a way to expand their understanding of what music can be.

cette musique est très difficile a jouer...et le quatuor arditti le fait a merveille . a conseiller a tout ceux que la musique contemporaine rebute .encore bravo pour cette performance exeptionnelle.

Sony's Ligeti Edition kicks off with a disk devoted to the string quartets. It's a good place to start. Like Ives, Ligeti wrote only two string quartets: an early one in a largely derivative style and a later one that epitomizes the composer's unique mature style. Also like Ives, Ligeti's two quartets, especially No. 2, are good enough to position him among the 20th Century most important purveyors of this genre.

Of course, the most important modernist composer of string quartets was Ligeti's countryman, Bartók. And it is to the sound world of Bartók's third and fourth string quartets (as well as his violin sonatas) that Ligeti's Metamorphoses Nocturnes belongs. Ligeti even cribs the central theme of his quartet, two major seconds separated by a minor second, from Bartók's fourth quartet. Although the Ligeti Edition and Ligeti Project CDs are filled with early works of little value, Metamorphoses Nocturnes, which we now think of as Ligeti's first quartet, is a worthy companion to his more mature and characteristic works, as well as the neoclassical compositions of his late period. The work opens with some dissonant ascending chromatic scales that anticipate the micropolyphony of later works like Atmosphères and the Requiem. Over this, the first violin plays that Bartók-derived four note main theme. What follows is a series of vignettes rather like a suite of character pieces, all played without a break. These include up-tempo and down-tempo modernist passages, usually based on a single theme (which might be derived from the main theme). One such passage is a little serenade with a viola theme that goes up and down chromatically over the compass of a minor third (the Bartókian main motive is also constrained to four half-steps that outline a minor third). Another is a funny waltz over a cello base that alternates over a (you guessed it) minor third. It reminds me of the ostinato that begins the last movement of Elliott Carter's first string quartet, though I'm sure that piece was unavailable to Ligeti in communist Hungary (even these Bartók quartets were banned from live performance). Finally there's a coda that returns to the mood and material of the opening, but with harmonic glissando sweeps replacing the legato ascending scales. This music is as advanced as anything that survives from Ligeti's early period.

Move ahead 13 years to 1968 and you get the Second String Quartet. This is among the 20th Century's greatest works, and is possibly the most important string quartet written since World War II by anyone other than Carter. Of all the Ligeti chamber works, this is the one that most spectacularly translates his techniques of sound surface manipulation, in which timbre and rhythm displace pitch as the most important musical parameter, to a very small ensemble.

The most famous part of the Second Quartet is the third movement, a quintessential Ligeti "metronome" piece that starts with pizzicatos on A and B, initially in rhythmic unision, but gradually speeding up, getting softer, and with the four instruments getting out of phase (continuing to play in steady pulses but at different tempos). Despite what you hear, the movement is written in 4/4 time, and starts with an eighth rest followed by seven eighth notes on the A/B dyad. In the second bar, one instrument moves to quintuplet eighth notes while the rest continue with straight eighth notes (something that I've never heard performed exactly correctly). Quintuplets turn into sextuplets, then to septuplets, etc., and while this unfolds the players are ostensibly supposed to keep track of where the downbeat is, without a conductor. In practice, Ligeti must have understood that the best he was likely to get was an approximation of what he wrote, but it was his feeling, shared by Boulez in his later years, that only the most precisely notated ensemble music would survive, a repudiation of other composers' experimentation with graphic or aleatoric scores.

As the third movement continues, the musicians play softer and faster, eventually lightly tapping their instruments in a passage that resembles dropping a bunch of rubber balls that bounce less high but more rapidly as they lose their kinetic energy. Suddenly there emerges an amazing gesture of atonal runs in contrary motion, played arco, that quickly crescendos to a sforzando. The coda follows, a sort of varied recapitulation of the pizzicato metronomes, with short bursts of repeated notes, now played arco.

Another highlight is the last movement. This opens with shimmering pianissimo bowed tremolos spanning a minor third (note how this was anticipated by the waltz in the first quartet). Each instrument takes the tremolo at a different speed, after which the pitches fan out into chromatic clusters in a way exploited by Ligeti in several other works (e.g., Continuum, the second movement of the Double Concerto and the eighth of the Ten Pieces for Wind Quintet). Later, Ligeti uses an idea associated with Cage and Stockhausen by isolating a single very low sustained sound (on the cello's C string) and a single sustained high sound (a violin harmonic in its extreme upper register). These notes shift around until they're separated by several octaves and a minor third, at which point the minor third tremolos of the opening recur, followed by shimmering runs outward toward the top and bottom of the instrumental ranges as the work fades to a close. This is music you listen to at night with good headphones and no other sounds to disturb you. A good friend, or a bong, are optional.

The Arditti Quartet is perhaps the most renowned virtuoso quartet in the world, famous for their championing of many contemporary works (among others, the Carter quartets and Stockhausen's notorious Helicopter String Quartet). They convey little strain when coping with the Second Quartet's considerable technical challenges. In addition to rapid atonal runs, Ligeti throws in microtonal inflections, various extended playing techniques, and, as noted above, some complicated rhythmic notation in the third movement. I remain nostalgic for the old La Salle Quartet recording that evangelized this work during the 1970s. And as I write this, Naxos has just released a CD of these works performed by the Parker Quartet. But this performance will do quite nicely. And it's great to have both string quartets available on one CD, captured with modern, noise-free digital recording technology.

A handful of throwaway trifles, mostly from Ligeti's early days, round out the CD. And so begins the almost-complete survey of Sony's Ligeti Edition and Teldec's Ligeti Project, two collections for which I am very grateful, especially at the bargain prices on offer as of December 2009.

UPDATE March 2010: Sony has made the entire Ligeti Edition series available in an inexpensive nine-CD box set that includes this CD, so you should probably just buy that set instead of this one if you're at all interested in Ligeti's music.

For those of you who haven't experienced Ligeti, this is the CD to purchase, especially if you like string quartets. If you're not accustomed to 20th century music, keep an opened mind and I promise you'll really enjoy his music.

The recording of the 2nd quartet is, as usual with the Arditti Quartet, phenomenal, but what makes this recording is their production of his 1st quartet. The performance is very clean and precise, yet still very musical. Most impressive of all, Arditti stays true to Ligeti's tempi, including the blistering tempo of the end!

As an added bonus, there are two very delightful duets for violins, which are very tonal and based on Hungarian folk tunes (these were written as part of graduation from the Budapest Academy of Music).