Ligeti: Works for Piano, 2 Pianos, and Piano 4-Hands

Featuring

Lucille Chung
Alessio Bax
György Ligeti

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Historical Context

György Ligeti left Hungary in 1956 after the Soviet tanks suppressed the Hungarian revolt against dictatorship.

Cultural Impact

Many listeners associate György Ligeti, the composer on this album, with his composition Lux Aeterna, which was used in Stanley Kubrick's film 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Composer Biography

György Ligeti, born in Transylvania, was initially influenced by Zoltán Kodály and especially Béla Bartók, whose elements are evident in his early works.

Compositional Technique

Ligeti's Etude No. 1, Désordre, dedicated to Pierre Boulez, creates a strong sense of instability through continuous rhythmic and metric asymmetry between the right and left hands.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Ligeti's encounter with Karlheinz Stockhausen and the discovery of electronic music in the late 1950s led to a complete rethinking of his aesthetics.

Performer Biography

Pianist Alessio Bax won first prize at the prestigious Leeds International Pianoforte Competition in 2000, performing Brahms' Piano Concerto No. 1 with Sir Simon Rattle.

Compositional Technique

In some of his important works, Ligeti transferred concepts from electronic music to vocal and instrumental music, using large sound bands that are savored in their immobile, abstract purity.