First reason to buy this recording: You've bought Aimard's Ligeti edition no. 3 with the complete book 1 & 2 etudes, Musica Ricercata and the first etude of book 3 "White on White". You listened to this CD almost religiously for a number of years then inevitably the day comes when you wonder why they didn't just include the other 3 etudes from book 3. Is there a hole in your musical life? Are these "lost" recording locked in a secret heavily guarded vault somewhere and some cigar chomping music CEO with access shows only his close friends and you're not invited? Would a recording of Aimard playing these book 3 etudes somehow not fit in stylistically with his earlier playing of books 1 & 2? Have no fear. Your Ligeti etude collection by Aimard is just a click away from being complete then you can make a nice playlist on your iTunes are hear every study from books 1,2 & 3 in order.

Second reason... This is one of the most interesting collections of different music organized into an single album I've ever heard. Steve Reich, Ligeti and Traditional African Pygmy music could not be more dissimilar yet so closely related. Steve Reich fans will enjoy a different sound for familiar pieces. Our Western ears will get a long overdue dose of reality that not everyone does music like us, that we are but a fraction of the whole musical spectrum. If you enjoy the juxtaposition of traditional music with Ligeti's piano etudes I wholeheartedly recommend Belgian pianist Jan Michiels recordings "Ligeti - Banda Linda" which contain the book 1 etudes and "Ligeti - Gamelan" which contains the book 2 etudes. Gyorgy Ligeti apparently liked his playing expressing his gratitude in his unique manner... "GRAND MERCI for the cd Ligeti-Etudes I'm very impressed (already before, I liked your playing)
(György Ligeti-letter 24/09/1996)." Jan plays very differently than Aimard but isn't that what you want when you buy a recording, something new? Apparently the idea to include African music with Ligeti's piano studies was put into action first by Jan Michiels whose recording has an original release date of November 30, 2004 versus Aimard's original release date of May 15, 2006. I don't know the all details but it seems Jan Michiels had the inspiration for the project first.

So, whether you're an ardent fan of Aimard who listened to his Ligeti about as seriously as other people listen to Gould's Goldberg Variations or someone with eclectic taste who eager ventures forth in search of new sounds and original concepts, this recording is sure to richly reward YOU the listener for many pleasurable hours.

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Dr. Debra Jan Bibel

Polyphony, Pulses, and Superimposed Rhythms: Out of Africa

Reviewed in the United States on July 26, 2015

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Pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard has presented a remarkable album of traditional African folk pieces and contemporary classical music structured with polyrhythms. Steve Reich is represented with his Clapping Music and Music for Pieces of Wood. Eight tunes of the Aka Pygmies from Central African Republic, recorded in a Berlin studio, and six György Ligeti (1923-2006) works comprise the remainder of the tracks. Such unusual juxtapositions surprisingly works and indeed "beauty" is the first word that comes to mind. Across the ages African music, particularly rhythms, have entered European and Asian courts and traveled to the Americas. Simplicity of a single voice and beat when multiplied but varied creates worlds of complexity yet are spiritually deep, as discovered by early Renaissance composers of religious music and modern Minimalists and avant-garde composers, who reached to Indonesia, sub-Saharan Africa, and the Balkans. The sound quality of the album is crisp and lucid. A stunning conceptual album, rich in significance and musical history, will appeal to a wide audience from fans of world music and classical New Music to New Age and free jazz enthusiasts. It is a brilliant and profoundly satisfying album.

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James1108

Great relaxing sounds

Reviewed in the United States on May 12, 2021

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Amazing mix of musics yet they mesh so well. Fabulous collection

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Roy U. Rojas Wahl

If you like experiments...

Reviewed in the United States on June 23, 2003

...then this is the right place to start. And if you like cross-overs, this is one of the more laudable efforts to consider.
The basic idea behind this CD is brilliant: An exciting confrontation really, a comparison, between contemporary culture and rhythms, and indegenious ones from a thousands of years ago...! Little has changed, the cynic would say, however, but we all know,so much has changed. Pierre-Laurand Aimard plays Ligeti and Reich very dark, like a rich french coffee, but with tempo and a kick, and still with mysticism which is very very black. It's hard to imagine, but the piano actually CAN do these things, and it requires a master like him here to drive it to its full potential. Ligeti's comments range from the extravagant to the funny.
What I like most about this CD ist the fact that intends to be completely uncommercial. What a miracle in today's world full of cross-over pressure (from the labels), commerce and bombast, and therefore, by all means, go and get this CD, and be it just to promote art before the dictate of money, money and more money...!

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Mikhail Lewis

Beautiful

Reviewed in the United States on February 6, 2005

The Aka Pygmy group was recorded in Teldex Studio Berlin, rather than in the field as usual, and thus the recording features the clearest and most beautiful Pygmy music I have heard.

Aimard's performance of Ligeti's Etudes is also amazing, and would be highly preferable to Frederick Ullen's recordings if complete.

Reich is somewhat neglected for lack of piano works, with Music for Pieces of Wood being adapted to piano.

The liner notes, by musical director Simha Arom, Aimard, Ligeti, and Reich are far more imformative than most, explaining the conception of the disc and features of all three musics.

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Eclectic / clueless

Fascinating and well-programmed selection

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 2, 2004

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The Ligeti pieces are gems, a glorious mixture of Bartok and Africa, as the juxtaposition with the Aka pygmies' pieces makes plain. They are also more melodic and immediate than several of the earlier Etudes, and yet the similarities with 'Autumn in Warsaw' are still there. The genuine African pieces are a polyrythmic revelation ; hypnotic, driving music. The programming of the album is very astute indeed ; it's like listening to a wonderfully eclectic radio station ; you will no doubt quickly weary of the Reich pieces, although, oddly, the Clapping piece gains by being alongside the Ligeti and Aka music. Aimard's musicianship and technique are ideally suited to Ligeti's music. Why not five stars ? Because the Reich pieces seem like insubstantial curios alongside the Ligeti and Aka.

13 people found this helpful

mute4

好企画盤！

Reviewed in Japan on November 2, 2004

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～なるほど！っていうのは聴けば分かります。ピグミー族の歌、リズムにヒントを得て作られたと思われるライヒ、リゲティの曲をピグミーの演奏の後に収録しいかに影響が見られるか？を聴きながら楽しめます。かなり深ーいところでなるほど！とうなるものもあれば、まんまのものもあり、音楽の面白さがまたひとつ再発見できるでしょう。結構難解なイメージを持っ～～ている人（現代音楽とか）にこそおすすめ。坂本龍一氏もこれをいたく褒めていました。まずは聴いてみて！～

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