By Damián Autorino
Editor at Moto Perpetuo
Album: Ligeti: Violin Concerto – Piano Concerto – Concert Românesc / Kurtág: Aus der Ferne III & V
Artists: Isabelle Faust (violin), Jean-Frédéric Neuburger (piano), Les Siècles
Conductor: François-Xavier Roth
Label: Harmonia Mundi
Duration: 1h09
Available on: all streaming platforms
This album offers a powerful portrait of György Ligeti through three of his most contrasting orchestral works: the youthful Concert Românesc, the dense and imaginative Piano Concerto, and the extraordinary Violin Concerto, composed late in his career and blending centuries of musical references with radical invention.
Isabelle Faust, celebrated for her versatility across eras and styles, brings precision and expressive depth to the Violin Concerto, a work of intricate layering and volatile contrasts. Jean-Frédéric Neuburger is the soloist in the Piano Concerto, whose rhythmic dislocations and hybrid harmonies find clarity in his hands. Les Siècles, under François-Xavier Roth, offer vibrant, historically informed performances, especially in the folkloric textures of the Concert Românesc.
Two brief quartets by Ligeti’s close friend György Kurtág—Aus der Ferne III and V—are placed as spare, intimate interludes. Performed by Faust with members of Les Siècles, they provide moments of fragile stillness that contrast with Ligeti’s expansive architecture.
Focused, coherent, and superbly executed, this recording traces a rich arc through Ligeti’s musical world, with Kurtág’s presence felt as a distant echo.
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