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BIS

Ligeti: Concertos & Melodien / Bronnimann, Ahonen, Poltera, BIT20 Ensemble

$21.99

Details

Composer
LIGETI, GYORGY
Artist
Bronnimann, Poltera, Ahonen
Format
SACD
Label
BIS
Released
Jan 06, 2017
Catalog #
BIS-2209
UPC
7318599922096

About

Described as ‘one of the most innovative and influential among progressive figures of his time’, György Ligeti (1923 – 2006) was able to constantly reinvent himself. In his earliest works, written in Communist Hungary, the musical language is often an extension of that of Bartók’s and he kept his most daring compositions to himself. Escaping Hungary in 1956 he was able to revel in the freedom to experiment – with electronic techniques as well as elaborate serialism – but he was forever sceptical of schools and steered his own course throughout life. The 1960s and early 70s were a highly productive period, which saw works such as Lux Aeterna and Lontano, as well as three of the works on the present disc. In the Cello Concerto and the Chamber Concerto, Ligeti in different ways explores the idea of the concerto as something collective, rather than polarised between the one and the many. The Cello Concerto is striking, and even provocative, in that the soloist often seems to aspire to silence and even absence rather than virtuosic display. The Chamber Concerto, on the other hand, dazzles because here all 13 players are unmistakably present, all essential to the design and character of the whole. Like the Cello Concerto – and the Piano Concerto – Melodien can be performed by large orchestra, but also, as on the present recording, with a single string player per part, becoming a natural pendant to the Chamber Concerto. The disc closes with the Piano Concerto from 1988, which Ligeti had begun sketching eight years earlier but was only able to proceed with after having composed his first set of studies for piano solo. Ligeti himself described the five-movement work as a statement of his ‘aesthetic credo’. Performing these complex scores is the Norwegian specialist ensemble BIT 20 under the Swiss conductor Baldur Brönnimann, with soloists Christian Poltéra and Joonas Ahonen, making his first appearance on the BIS label.

Tracklist 12 tracks

  1. 1 I. — 07:00
    Track
    1
    Title
    I. —
    Duration
    07:00
    Composer
    György Ligeti
    Performer
    Christian Poltéra
    Ensemble
    BIT20 Ensemble
    Conductor
    Baldur Brönnimann
  2. 2 II. — 09:00
    Track
    2
    Title
    II. —
    Duration
    09:00
    Composer
    György Ligeti
    Performer
    Christian Poltéra
    Ensemble
    BIT20 Ensemble
    Conductor
    Baldur Brönnimann
  3. 3 I. Corrente 04:53
    Track
    3
    Title
    I. Corrente
    Duration
    04:53
    Composer
    György Ligeti
    Ensemble
    BIT20 Ensemble
    Conductor
    Baldur Brönnimann
  4. 4 II. Calmo - sostenuto 05:52
    Track
    4
    Title
    II. Calmo - sostenuto
    Duration
    05:52
    Composer
    György Ligeti
    Ensemble
    BIT20 Ensemble
    Conductor
    Baldur Brönnimann
  5. 5 III. Movimento preciso e meccanico 03:49
    Track
    5
    Title
    III. Movimento preciso e meccanico
    Duration
    03:49
    Composer
    György Ligeti
    Ensemble
    BIT20 Ensemble
    Conductor
    Baldur Brönnimann
  6. 6 IV. Presto 03:35
    Track
    6
    Title
    IV. Presto
    Duration
    03:35
    Composer
    György Ligeti
    Ensemble
    BIT20 Ensemble
    Conductor
    Baldur Brönnimann
  7. 7 Melodien 12:32
    Track
    7
    Title
    Melodien
    Duration
    12:32
    Composer
    György Ligeti
    Ensemble
    BIT20 Ensemble
    Conductor
    Baldur Brönnimann
  8. 8 I. Vivace molto ritmico e preciso 03:59
    Track
    8
    Title
    I. Vivace molto ritmico e preciso
    Duration
    03:59
    Composer
    György Ligeti
    Performer
    Joonas Ahonen
    Ensemble
    BIT20 Ensemble
    Conductor
    Baldur Brönnimann
  9. 9 II. Lento e deserto 06:39
    Track
    9
    Title
    II. Lento e deserto
    Duration
    06:39
    Composer
    György Ligeti
    Performer
    Joonas Ahonen
    Ensemble
    BIT20 Ensemble
    Conductor
    Baldur Brönnimann
  10. 10 III. Vivace cantabile 04:13
    Track
    10
    Title
    III. Vivace cantabile
    Duration
    04:13
    Composer
    György Ligeti
    Performer
    Joonas Ahonen
    Ensemble
    BIT20 Ensemble
    Conductor
    Baldur Brönnimann
  11. 11 IV. Allegro risoluto, molto ritmico 05:18
    Track
    11
    Title
    IV. Allegro risoluto, molto ritmico
    Duration
    05:18
    Composer
    György Ligeti
    Performer
    Joonas Ahonen
    Ensemble
    BIT20 Ensemble
    Conductor
    Baldur Brönnimann
  12. 12 V. Presto luminoso 03:10
    Track
    12
    Title
    V. Presto luminoso
    Duration
    03:10
    Composer
    György Ligeti
    Performer
    Joonas Ahonen
    Ensemble
    BIT20 Ensemble
    Conductor
    Baldur Brönnimann