Cathy Krier performs the 18 Etudes for piano by Ligeti, pieces which are counted amongst the most difficult piano works to perform.

"After a period of less involvement with keyboard instruments since the 1950s, the first book of Etudes pour piano confirmed the composer's return to writing for the piano. Before turning to the piano, however, he first devoted himself to the harpsichord (Continuum, Hungarian Rock, Passacaglia Ungherese). The Trois pieces pour deux pianos composed in 1976 stand as a central work in the composer's oeuvre and compositional development. The importance of rhythm is omnipresent and the interest in this parameter would increase in the early 1980s with the discovery of the polyrhythms of the Aka Pygmies and the vast complexity of Conlon Nancarrow's Studies for Player Piano, as revealed by his Etudes.

Gyorgy Ligeti composed his eighteen Etudes pour piano over a period of more than seventeen years. His first book of six Etudes was published in 1985. From the outset, the composer planned to compose a second volume, also comprising six Etudes. The reference to the piano tradition and the collections of six and twelve etudes by Chopin, Liszt or Debussy is obvious. The second book, composed between 1988 and 1994, finally contained eight etudes. His third and last book includes four more Etudes composed between 1995 and 2001" (Excerpt of the booklet liner notes written by the artist)

Elected ECHO Rising-Star for the 2015/2016 season, Luxembourg pianist Cathy Krier has enjoyed great success in the most prestigious concert halls in Europe. Her programmes, combining classical and modern periods and featuring works by Rameau, Schubert, Ravel and Berg, as well as a piece specially written for her by the German composer Wolfgang Rihm, were highly praised.