The Ligeti Project IV: Hamburg Concerto (Horn Concerto) / Double Concerto / Ramifications / Requiem

Gyorgy Ligeti (Artist), Reinbert de Leeuw (Performer), Jonathon Nott (Orchestra), Marie-Luise Neunecker (Orchestra), Heinz Holliger (Artist), Jacques Zoon (Artist), Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra (Artist), ASKO Ensemble / Schönberg Ensemble (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Reinbert de Leeuw
• Orchestra: Jonathon Nott, Marie-Luise Neunecker
• Audio CD (May 20, 2003)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Teldec
• ASIN: B00008UVCE
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #214,401 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. I. Paraludium

2. II. Singale, Tanz, Choral

3. III. Aria, Aksak, Hoketus

4. IV. Solo, Intermezzo, Mixtur, Kanon

5. V. Spectra

6. VI. Capricco

7. VII. Hymnus

8. I. Calmo, Con Tenerezza - Heniz Holliger

9. II. Allegro Corrente - Heniz Holliger

10. Ramifications For 12 Solo Strings - Heniz Holliger

11. I. Introitus. Sostenuto - Jonathan Nott

12. II. Kyrie. Molto Espressivo - Jonathan Nott

13. III. De Die Judicii Sequentia. Subito: Agitato Molto - Jonathan Nott

14. IV. Lacrimosa. Molto Lento - Jonathan Nott

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A superb meeting of Ligeti's recent and classic works, January 7, 2004

By 

Christopher Culver - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Ligeti Project IV: Hamburg Concerto (Horn Concerto) / Double Concerto / Ramifications / Requiem (Audio CD)

The fourth disc of Warner Classics' fresh and exciting Ligeti Project contains the composer's recent "Hamburg Concerto" as well as two other works performed by the Asko/Schoenberg Ensemble. If you're new to Ligeti, this is worth getting because it contains his "Requiem", one of his most famous and also most accessible works, in a new performance by the Berliner Philharmonik.

In the "Hamburg Concerto" (1998) Ligeti presents a work which seems superficially simple and common, but which teems with inventiveness underneath. Primarily for horns, it also contains an lovely harp interruption, and the drumming seems inspired by the African music which the composer explored in the 90's. Though he is quite old now and has a 60-year career behind him, Ligeti continues to write interesting music and remains as strong as ever.

The "Double Concerto" (1972) is an exploration of the differences between flute and oboe. It begans as a quite soothing piece, but in its first movement grows to mournfulness through solitary sustained high notes. The second movement is more lively with a great deal of orchestral involvement. "Ramifications" (1968-69) is a minor work in which half of its twelve solo strings are tunes a quarter-tone lower than the other half. Ligeti then explores the surreal interaction among the strings. The performance here seems solid, but I find its recording too "dark", and prefer the Ensemble Intercontemporain/Pierre Boulez performance, recently reissued by Deutsche Grammaphon, which is considerably clearer.

For all that comes before it, "Requiem" (1963-65) is clearly the highest point of the disc. The complexity and power of the piece makes it a real chef d'oeuvre. Beginning with a slow "Introitus", the work moves into a stunning "Kyrie", in which the threatening murmurs of over 100 singers create a complex web of sound occasionally broken by ingenious orchestral interruptions. The following "De die judicii" is dedicated mainly to the idiosyncratic vocal experimentations of solo soprano and mezzo-soprano. The piece ends with ever diminished strength, as if symbolising the one being laid to rest. Though this piece acheived popularity through its use in the final portion of Kubrick's "2001", I find this live version from 2002 to be much better than the first performance of the 60's.

My only complaints about the CD concern the liner notes. The English translation of Ligeti's (German language) comments is not so faithful to the original. There are also a couple of ads in the booklet.

This is a must-have disc for fans of Ligeti, and an ideal starting-place for The Ligeti Project. The glorious new "Requiem" brings me back frequently.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mind-Bending Microtones, May 31, 2003

By 

Daniel Johnson - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Ligeti Project IV: Hamburg Concerto (Horn Concerto) / Double Concerto / Ramifications / Requiem (Audio CD)

Each one of the pieces of music on this disc is something close to a masterpiece. The Requiem is justly famous for its eerie sonorities and moments of modernist shock and drama. 'Ramifications,' an often ghostly work for 12 solo strings, is somewhat in the same vein, as is the Double Concerto for flute and oboe; both pieces shimmer with weird, microtonal harmonies.

But The Ligeti Project, as always, offers us the opportunity to compare the classic Ligeti works of the 60's and 70's with the sort of pieces he is composing today, and my favorite piece on this recording is the brand new Hamburg Concerto for solo French horn and orchestra--including four "natural" horns tuned to various different keys. The elaborate and (again) microtonal interactions of the horns within a highly lucid, conservative harmonic language creates something utterly arresting, novel, and unsettlingly beautiful.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars a new concerto plus three new recordings, June 11, 2003

By 

R. Hutchinson "autonomeus" (a world ruled by fossil fuels and fossil minds) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Ligeti Project IV: Hamburg Concerto (Horn Concerto) / Double Concerto / Ramifications / Requiem (Audio CD)

The pace of Teldec's Ligeti Project series is speeding up -- LP1 was released in 2001, LP2 in 2002, and now LP3 and LP4 in 2003. This is another excellent production, with recordings from September through November of 2002. The disc opens with the premiere recording of the "Hamburg Concerto," just composed in 1998-9. Featured is the Horn of Marie Luise Neunecker, the dedicatee. The performance is marvelous, but I do not find the composition to be as compelling as other "late Ligeti" pieces such as the Piano and Violin Concertos.

The new recording of the "Double Concerto" (composed in 1972) features Heinz Holliger on oboe, generally acknowledged to be the most accomplished player of his instrument today, along with Jacques Zoon on flute. "Ramifications" was presented in two versions on a Wergo disc, for 12 solo strings, and with orchestra -- LP4 presents only the 12 strings version. Finally, my personal favorite for this recording, a new version of "Requiem" (composed in 1963-5), part of which was used for the soundtrack of Kubrick's "2001." The complete recording was previously available on Wergo, but I had not heard it before -- it resembles "Lux Aeterna," but includes wisps of orchestra in addition to the solo and choral voices. Jonathan Nott conducts the Berlin Philharmonic here, superb again as on the LP2 disc, which presents all orchestral works. LP4 is not the place to start if you're investigating Ligeti, I'd say (I recommend LP2 or perhaps LP1), but it is a fine album, and indispensable for Ligeti collectors.