Classical Music | Piano Music

Recorded on 08/17/2016, uploaded on 04/02/2017

Musician's or Publisher's Notes

Ligeti composed his Etudes in order to transform his own piano technique from inadequacy into professionalism. They have come to be recognized as one of his major achievements to stand alongside those of Chopin ,Liszt and Debussy. Ligeti has listed the many influences on their composition, from the music of the Sub-Saharan African cultures to the Jazz pianism of Thelonious Monk and Bill Evans. Most important are the virtuoso piano pieces, which move from simplicity to complexity, behaving, in the composer's words “like growing organisms”. Fanfares opens with an eleven note figure over a rolling ostinato, the two parts crossing over as the piece progresses.     Riyad Nicolas

Courtesy of International Music Foundation.