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Customer Reviews
The etudes arranged for player piano are also fantastic; "l'escalier du diable" in particular I find dizzying in its continual shifting of contexts. I know nothing about music theoretically or technically, but I really think this recording is rather special. Go on, try it; you won't be disappointed!
Poeme Symphonique for 100 metronomes is perhaps the most eccentric and dadaist work and is an intriguing exercise rather than music that you'd want to regularly hear again. All the other works for player piano or barrel organ are coherent and attractive exercises enhanced by the demonic demands of speed and precision. At best these deliriously exciting works.
Ligeti, particularly in the player piano works offers a conscious tribute to the work of Conlon Nancarrow. So don't try to play these at home; sit back and let the massive waves of sound wash over you. The recording is first class; it's a shame I can't praise individual performers because there aren't any. Don't be put of by this, the music is often passionate and very human. It's a worthy addition to the Sony Ligeti series. Highly recommended.
Poeme Symphonique for 100 Metronomes was the main thing I wanted to hear on this collection. The piece starts with 100 metronomes ticking in a dense, ordered mass of monotone ticks. As the piece progresses, as some of the metronomes finish winding down, distinct rhythmic arrangements begin to emerge, swaying and wavy and disorienting. (You can also play a good trick on someone: play this piece in their car and they'll think the vehicle is about to explode or something.) Finally, one metronome is left ticking alone, then silence. The concept seemed utterly fascinating so I knew it was something I had to check out. Fortunately, it is more than just an idea that sounds good on paper - it is a very enthralling piece of music. In the liner notes, Ligeti discusses the thermodynamic category of maximal entropy, which factored into his considerations in composing this piece. That's interesting, because in his work on "dissipative structures," Nobel laureate Ilya Prigogine theorized that a given system might reach a "bifurcation point," at which its simpler processes can no longer provide for order. At this point, Prigogine tells us, the system can either go into a total, entropic collapse, or evolve into a higher form of order. The second law of thermodynamics (on which our understanding of entropy is based) may not be as relevant as Prigogine's insights. Rather than coming to maximal entropy upon the finale of the single metronome, we can think of it as a new beginning. It's kind of inspirational in its own weird little way. To get the most out of it, play it on your finest stereo equipment at massive volumes and drown in the sound (gotta emulate the live performance anyway you can).
Another highlight of this collection as Ligeti's piano Etudes adapted for player piano. In standard form, the Etudes demand reams of virtuosity. Here, they are rearranged for player piano where there are no limits imposed by the performer - even the godlike Pierre-Laurent Aimard and Fredrik Ullen are still MEN, and thus have man's limitations. Needless to say, these adaptations are stunning and astonishingly fast, from the head-spinning runs of L'escalier du diable to the astonishing gamelan texture of Galamb borong (for two player pianos). Also of interest is Continuum, adapted for two player pianos. It takes the blurry prestissimo to unreal speeds (it cannot actually be played fast enough on standard piano - the original was written for harpsichord).
The barrel organ pieces are very amusing adaptations of early Ligeti with shadows of Bartok, and they are full of the original pieces' rhythmic ingenuity and vigor, but with flawless mechanical precision and tone control. I think a big reason for my enjoying them is their quirky sound. As for Musica ricercata, personally I'd rather listen to Aimard's piano version (on Ligeti Edition 3), but the barrel organ adaptation is a pretty interesting spin on the piece, with an arrangement that gives it a very different flavor. The barrel organ also makes them sound kinda proggy, hehe.
Get it. Remember, this stuff's going out of print, and Ligeti is so good you don't want to miss your opportunity to have his music!
For fans of the piano etudes, the transcriptions here for player piano will provide an interesting standard that living pianists approach only with immense talent and practice. Etude XIVa "Coloana fara sfarsit" was written originally for player piano, with the usual Etude XIV being a simplification for mere humans. While it's generally more interesting to hear Aimard perform the Etudes, the player piano versions are entertaining listening in their own right.
The adaptations for barrel organ are completely uninteresting to this reviewer. Perhaps Ligeti was fond of the instrument because of childhood memories, but their presence taking up half the disc means that you could probably save this installment for last in collecting the Gyorgy Ligeti Edition. But snatch all the volumes up soon, because Sony has a nasty habit of letting fine recordings slip out of print.
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