Search - Gyorgy Ligeti, Friedrich Cerha, Ernest Bour :: György Ligeti: Kammerkonzert; Ramifications; Lux aeterna; Atmosphères

Ligeti's sound world -- the advent of micropolyphony

R. Hutchinson | a world ruled by fossil fuels and fossil minds | 07/27/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"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."

Nice, but listen for the dodgy editing

Rob KB | Lincolnshire, UK | 08/26/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"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."