Page 735 - Liverpool Philharmonic 22-23 Season Coverage Book

Ligeti: Violin Concerto

First performed in 1990, György Ligeti's Violin Concerto can be a bewildering
experience for the first-time listener – in particular its outer movements, where
Eastern European folk themes are mixed with more otherworldly effects and where
the musical argument can be difficult to follow at times.

• Read our reviews of the latest Ligeti recordings here

Our regular contributor Stephen Johnson has called the concerto 'a kind of
cornucopia of effects and techniques, a wild collage of atmospheres and colours' that
employs 'microtonality, rapidly changing textures, comic juxtapositions... Hungarian
folk melodies, Bulgarian dance rhythms, references to medieval and Renaissance
music and solo violin writing that ranges from the slow-paced and sweet-toned to the
angular and fiery.'

Recommended recording: Agustin Hadelich (violin), Norwegian Radio Orchestra /
Miguel Harth-Bedoya (Warner Classics).