A performance of admirable agility and melodic buoyancy, the album take conveys the Ligetian spirit with top-class ensemble playing, the five musicians interlocking beautifully throughout the musical arch, covering its playful and dramatic aspects with equal spiritedness, giving rise to pristine album take
In similar vein, the Ten Pieces are rendered with utmost craft and dedication, as the five players delve deep into the very essence of the music displaying fully fledged virtuosity in its ensemble sequences and soloistic passages alike. There are five movements conceived in concertante manner by Ligeti, providing the clarinet, flute, oboe, horn and bassoon with individual moments to stand out from the fabric. In the five other movements, several aspects of ensemble writing are examined with utmost imagination, resulting in ever-permuting overall musical forms.
Recorded live with focused precision and apt spaciousness, the album sonics serve the three scores well indeed. Given that there is virtually no discernabe audience noise, the album brings together the best of both worlds combining studio clarity with the intensity of live performance. A brilliant portrait of one of the most brilliant musical minds of the twentieth century, the Harmonia Mundi re-release is a must for those who missed the album on its first publication.
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