Ligeti: Chamber Concerto for instruments; Lux Aeterna

On this CD:

1. Chamber Concerto, for 13 instruments
Composed by Gyorgy Ligeti
Performed by Die Reihe Ensemble
Conducted by Friedrich Cerha

2. Ramifications, for 12 strings (or string orchestra) version for string orchestra
Composed by Gyorgy Ligeti

Conducted by Ernest Bour

3. Ramifications, for 12 strings (or string orchestra) version for 12 string players
Composed by Gyorgy Ligeti
Performed by Saarbrucken Radio Symphony Orchestra
Conducted by Antonio Janigro

4. Lux aeterna, for 16 unaccompanied voices
Composed by Gyorgy Ligeti
Performed by Stuttgart Schola Cantorum
Conducted by Clytus Gottwaold

5. Atmosphères, for large orchestra
Composed by Gyorgy Ligeti

Conducted by Ernest Bour

Tracks:

Kammerkonzert Fur 13 Instrumentalisten: Corrente
Kammerkonzert Fur 13 Instrumentalisten: Calmo, Sostenuto
Kammerkonzert Fur 13 Instrumentalisten: Movimento Preciso E Meccanico
Kammerkonzert Fur 13 Instrumentalisten: Presto
Ramifications, Version Fur Streichorchester - Sinfonie-Orchester Des Sudwestfunks, Baden-Baden/Ernest Bour
Ramifications, Version Fur 12 Solostreicher - Kammerorchester Des Saarlandischen Rundfunks, Saarbrucken/Antonio Janigro
Lux Aeterna Fur 16 Stimmigen Gemischten Chor A Cappella - Schola Cantorum Stuttgart/Clytus Gottwald
Atmospheres Fur Grosses Orchester Ohne Schlagzeug - Sinfonie-Orchester Des Sudwestfunks, Baden-Baden/Ernest Bour

Customer Reviews:

A party for the ears, addendum 2002.......2002-07-24

The other review on this page by me is for an out of print edition conducted by Pierre Boulez. The item being sold on this page does not contain any of the non Chamber Concerto recordings and I do not own it. For whatever reason, ... transferred this review from there to here, possibly because nobody else had reviewed it at the time. ... should feel free to eliminate that and this review. (You gave me no outlet to contact you via other means.)

My opinion of the Chamber Concerto still stands (hence the 4 stars, I didn't want to throw off the average), though I would recommend the recent Ligeti supervised Teldec recording.

Nice, but listen for the dodgy editing.......2001-08-26

This disc is a digest of various recordings of Ligeti's works made by Wergo in the 60's and 70's. So - first thing to note - these are all taken from analogue masters. The recordings of the Chamber Concerto and the two versions of Ranmifications still sound good, particularly the last movement of the Concerto, which has precisely the right "sparkling" quality the piece demands. Lux Aeterna and Atmospheres are amongst the infamous recordings used by Stanley Kubrick in "2001: A space Odyssey". The former stands up well. However, the very noticeable edit towards the end of Atmospheres is definitely absent from the original vinyl release of the movie soundtrack, and I can only surmise that the engineers have tried, ineptly, to cover up some damage to the master tape. You can't fool us, boys and girls! On the whole, though, a worthwhile reissue of some of the premier recordings of groundbreaking 20th-century music.

Ligeti's sound world -- the advent of micropolyphony.......2001-07-28

This is arguably one of the most important collections of Ligeti's works now available. The Ligeti Edition never got around to his orchestral works before it was terminated by Sony! "Atmospheres" from 1961 is hard to find anywhere else, and it was one of Ligeti's breakthrough works. An abbreviated version is the first track on the "2001" soundtrack, but it is complete here in a 1966 recording. "Lux Aeterna," also made widely known by Kubrick's film, is here in its original 1966 recording. The other works, the "Chamber Concerto" of 1969-70 and two versions of "Ramifications" from 1968-69 (one for string ensemble and one for full orchestra), are wilder and more diverse than "Atmospheres" and "Lux Aeterna," expanding Ligeti's sound world into multiple dimensions! All in all an essential collection from one of the 20th century's leading composers. Wergo followed this with the "Cello Concerto/San Francisco Polyphony" disc, and together they capture Ligeti's pioneering orchestral works from the late 50s through the early 70s.

A Party For The Ears.......1999-12-11

The Chamber Concerto is among my favorite Ligeti compositions. It's filled with activity, none of it really going anywhere specific, yet it evolves and develops in an organic, interest sustaining manner. Ligeti contrasts active and static textures as he does in much of his work from this period, creating his own distinct multi-movement form. The third movement explores mechanical polyrhythms and explodes at one point into what sounds like a broken monkey machine. The second floats freely in space. The first and last movements bookend the piece as they burble and pulse with dizzying interconnecting lines that seem to neither begin nor end.

Such is my enthusiasm for the Chamber Concerto that I have come to regard the other pieces on this disc as a bonus. The 2nd String Quartet is often recorded and highly regarded. "Ramifications" is an interesting study of string color and microtones, though I don't find it as absorbing as similar (though much more violent) works by Penderecki. The last track, Lux Aeterna, is the most beautifully creepy piece of choral music I've heard, though the "Ligeti Edition" recording stands as the best for being the most faithful to Ligeti's score ("All entrances soft as possible"). "Aventures" has taken some getting use to for me. I don't think I'm quite there yet. A chamber opera of nonsense verse seems like something I should be immediately drawn to, not being a big fan of the overstatement in lyrics of regular opera. While the idea fascinates, the performances always manage to lose me. I suspect it's something best heard live.

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