Ligeti, Gyargy - String Quartets nos 1 & 2; Cello Sonata; Melodien for orchestra

Master of musical magic, György Ligeti is here represented by feats of brilliance, beauty and legerdemain from his early maturity.

His First String Quartet and Sonata for Solo Cello were both completed when he was around 30, living as a conservatory teacher in communist Hungary.

Both works show the strong influence of Bartók, the only modernist model available to him at the time, but both also display his individual style, with their consistently fascinating sound, strong but unpredictable sense of growth, and delight in surprise.

"A convincing journey through an attractive, multifaceted score" Gramophone