The Ligeti Project II: Lontano / Atmosph?res / Apparitions / San Francisco Polyphony / Concert Rom?nesc - Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra / Jonathan Nott
List Price:
Our Price: $13.99
You Save: $3.00 (18%)
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Buy Used: from $11.21 (click here)
Category: Music CD
See more CD details
Buy this Music CD at online store in your country
Canadian Music Store
Canadian Music Store
CD Details
Edition: Music CDCD Release Date: 2002-06-11
Music Label: Teldec
Soundtracks:
- 1. Lento
- 2. Agitato
- 1. Andantino
- 2. Allegro vivace
- 3. Adagio ma non troppo
- 4. Molto vivace
Music reviews of The Ligeti Project II: Lontano / Atmosph?res / Apparitions / San Francisco Polyphony / Concert Rom?nesc - Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra / Jonathan Nott
Music Review: Some major orchestral "micropolyphonic" works and a fun early piece
Rating: 5 Stars
Teldec's THE LIGETI PROJECT II continues the collection, started by Sony's "Gyorgy Ligeti Edition", of Ligeti's complete works in performances overseen by the composer himself. This second disc contains four orchestral works, three of which were written in his "micropolyphony" style of the 1960s and 1970s, and the fourth a recently-rediscovered gem written as a student in 1951. These are performed by the Berlin Philharmonic conducted by the young talent Jonathan Nott, and can be considered definitive.
The earliest piece here is "Concerto Romanesc" (1951), a bit of juvenalia inspired by folk melodies the composer heard during musicological expeditions in Romania. Dating from before his use of micropolyphony and overtly modernistic techniques, these pieces may sound like they came from a different composer entirely. Indeed, there is a frank tonalism here, broken only by the occurance of a single F# in the context of F minor, which, as Ligeti painfully recalls in the notes, was reason enough for the Communist government of Hungary to ban it. The opening "Andantino" is among the most emotionally moving of Ligeti's works, and might be compared to his early "Sonata for solo cello." This and the second movement "Allegro vivace" may sound familiar, as portions appeared arranged for two violins as "Balada si joc" on "Gyorgy Ligeti Edition 1: String Quartets and Duets".
A bit before before leaving Hungary in the aftermath of the suppressed 1956 revolt, Ligeti had already begin experimenting with total chromaticism, which due to political restrictions made for pieces consigned to the desk drawer. Once free in the West, his first orchestral piece was "Apparitions" (1958-59), which in its first movement displays a use of all twelve-tones, and then in the second introduces the new technique of "micropolyphony", interwoven textures of such complexity that one can hardly make out the individual strands. While entertaining, it is clearly an immature work in this new style, and I rarely come back to it. Maybe that is because the next piece here is one of Ligeti's sure masterpieces. "Atmospheres" (1961) is the piece which really brought Ligeti to international recognition, not only through the sensation of its premiere under Hans Rosbaud, but also because of Stanley Kubrick's unauthorized use of it in the film 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY. Eschewing traditional rhythm and melody for a series of shifting tone colours, one might think "Atmospheres" doesn't even qualify as music, but what music it is! Packed with thousands of individual little cells, the piece offers something new on every listen, for one can, if one wants, go behind the great whoosh of orchestral sound and concentrate on individual lines.
"Lontano" (1967) is closely related to Ligeti's a capella work "Lux Aeterna", and indeed the same melody appears "hidden" in each. The composer skillfully gives the impression of a great object approaching from far-off, seeming to move slowly but ultimately zooming past the listener. The orchestral texture is very dense and generally even, Ligeti reportedly wrote the piece while addicted to painkillers, which explains a lot. One very interesting thing about "Lontano" in Ligeti's overall output is that he abandons total chromaticism here, and however avant-garde his technique of micropolyphony might be, the piece is nonetheless diatonic. "San Francisco Polyphony" (1973-74) was written during Ligeti's stint teaching at Stanford. It's a little-known work in comparison to others in the micropolyphonic style, and I think that's a real shame because Ligeti introduces a major innovation here. Instead of seeming static on the surface like "Atmospheres" et al., there is great activity and rhythmic experimentation, and there are countless overt melodies like in the composer's 1971 piece "Melodien".
This disc makes one of the single best introductions to the music of this great and sorely missed composer, although THE LIGETI PROJECT IV with its performance of the "Requiem" and larger view of the composer's career serves well, too.
Description of The Ligeti Project II: Lontano / Atmosph?res / Apparitions / San Francisco Polyphony / Concert Rom?nesc - Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra / Jonathan Nott
The five extraordinary works on this disc will captivate Ligeti fans and entrance even those who don't know his music. The focus in Lontano on refined tonal colors makes it one of the most elegant pieces in the modernist canon. Atmosph?res is more static, holding interest through subtle changes in color and dynamics. Apparitions was Ligeti's first success in the West after his escape from Hungary during the 1956 Soviet invasion. It's a ghostly two-movement work. The first, Lento, is creepy in a dynamically subdued way. The second, Agitato, surprises in its violence, the orchestral crashes fulfilling the fears embodied in the Lento movement.San Francisco Polyphony, from 1974, is the most recent Ligeti composition on the disc, and it packs more into its 12-plus minutes than many full-evening works. It teems with dense orchestral figures and dynamic contrasts. Under its colorful fa?ade, the work demonstrates how uncompromising modern music can enchant both ear and mind. It should become a concert staple as we move deeper into the 21st century. Finally, an early 1951 work, Concert Rom?nesc, harks back to Bart?k's transformations of folk material. Rich in color and vitality, its four movements are full of the dissonances of village bands and melodies rooted in Romanian folk music and in Ligeti's fertile, sympathetic imagination. The playing of the Berlin Philharmonic under conductor Jonathan Nott is outstanding, as is the engineering. --Dan Davis
Ligeti, Gyorgy CDs
Music Genres
Bestsellers in Ligeti, Gyorgy CDs
Reinbert De Leeuw, Schonberg Ensemble - The Ligeti Project I: Melodien / Chamber Concerto / Piano Concerto / Mysteries of the Macabre - Sch?nberg Ensemble / ASKO Ensemble / Reinbert de LeeuwRelease date: 2001-06-19; Music CD
Best price: $9.88
Price in other shops:
Gy?rgy Ligeti Edition 6: Keyboard Works (Piano, Harpsichord, Organ) - Irina Kataeva / Pierre-Laurent Aimard / Elisabeth Chojnacka / Zsigmond Szathm?ryRelease date: 1997-05-20; Music CD
Best price: $8.98
Price in other shops:
Gy?rgy Ligeti Edition 4: Vocal Works (Madrigals, Mysteries, Aventures, Songs) - The King's Singers / Philharmonia Orchestra / Esa-Pekka SalonenRelease date: 1997-01-21; Music CD
Best price: $6.26
Price in other shops:
![Of Beauty & Light: The Music of Philip Glass [Box Set] Image](/images/Of-Beauty-Light-The-Music-of-Philip-Glass-Box-Set-B0013XZ34G-X.jpg)
Of Beauty & Light: The Music of Philip Glass [Box Set]Release date: 2008-03-25; Music CD
Best price: $18.06
Price in other shops:
Gy?rgy Ligeti Edition 1: String Quartets and Duets - Arditti String QuartetRelease date: 1997-01-21; Music CD
Best price: $6.32
Price in other shops:
Ligeti: Mechanical MusicRelease date: 1997-05-20; Music CD
Best price: $6.94
Price in other shops:
Gy?rgy Ligeti Edition 2: A Cappella Choral Works - London Sinfonietta VoicesRelease date: 1997-01-21; Music CD
Best price: $6.59
Price in other shops:
Gy?rgy Ligeti Edition 3: Works for Piano (Etudes, Musica Ricercata) - Pierre-Laurent AimardRelease date: 1997-01-21; Music CD
Best price: $6.22
Price in other shops:
The Ligeti ProjectRelease date: 2008-05-20; Music CD
Best price: $25.76
Price in other shops:
The Ligeti Project II: Lontano / Atmosph?res / Apparitions / San Francisco Polyphony / Concert Rom?nesc - Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra / Jonathan NottRelease date: 2002-06-11; Music CD
Best price: $12.06
Price in other shops:
Similar CDs
Stravinsky Conducts Stravinsky: Petrushka / Le Sacre du PrintempsRelease date: 1990-10-25; Music CD
Best price: $9.16
Price in other shops:
Copland: The Populist:Release date: 2000-05-16; Music CD
Best price: $6.97
Price in other shops:
Reinbert De Leeuw, Schonberg Ensemble - The Ligeti Project I: Melodien / Chamber Concerto / Piano Concerto / Mysteries of the Macabre - Sch?nberg Ensemble / ASKO Ensemble / Reinbert de LeeuwRelease date: 2001-06-19; Music CD
Best price: $9.79
Price in other shops:
Shostakovich: Symphonies Nos. 5 & 9Release date: 1999-09-14; Music CD
Best price: $7.62
Price in other shops:
Jean Sibelius: Symphonies No. 4-7, Tapiola etc.Release date: 1999-06-15; Music CD
Best price: $16.09
Price in other shops:
Britten: Peter GrimesRelease date: 1999-06-15; Music CD
Best price: $11.59
Price in other shops:
Bart?k: Concerto for Orchestra; Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta; Hungarian SketchesRelease date: 1993-08-10; Music CD
Best price: $5.97
Price in other shops:
Composer: Steve Reich, Performer: Steve Reich Ensemble - Steve Reich: Music for 18 MusiciansRelease date: 2000-04-18; Music CD
Best price: $11.99
Price in other shops:
The Rest Is Noise: Listening to the Twentieth Centuryby Alex Ross
Picador; Published: 2008-10-14; Paperback; Book
Best price: $10.80
Price in other shops:
Olivier Messiaen: Quartet for the End of TimeRelease date: 1989-08-11; Music CD
Best price: $5.98
Price in other shops: