Metamorphosis Ligeti

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This thrilling new release of the Transylvanian composer’s music for string quartet embraces three contrasting periods of his output...These players, who have specialised in modern music since... — BBC Music Magazine, April 2023, 5 out of 5 stars More…

Release Date: 3rd Mar 2023
Catalogue No: PTC5187061
Label: Pentatone
Length: 53 minutes

International Classical Music Awards

2024

Nominated - Chamber Music

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Ligeti: String Quartet No. 1 'Métamorphoses nocturnes'

Work length21:04

$12.00

$15.60

Quator Diotima

I. Allegro grazioso

Track length1:28

$1.00

$1.30

Ii. Vivace, capriccioso

Track length1:51

$1.00

$1.30

Iii. Adagio, mesto

Track length2:13

$1.00

$1.30

Iv. Presto

Track length1:08

$1.00

$1.30

V. Prestissimo

Track length1:24

$1.00

$1.30

Vi. Andante tranquillo

Track length3:12

$1.00

$1.30

Vii. Tempo di Valse, moderato, con eleganza, un poco capriccioso

Track length0:52

$1.00

$1.30

Viii. Subito prestissimo

Track length1:31

$1.00

$1.30

Ix. Allegretto, un poco giovale

Track length0:55

$1.00

$1.30

X. Poco più mosso

Track length1:41

$1.00

$1.30

Xi. Prestissimo

Track length1:34

$1.00

$1.30

Xii. Ad libitum, senza misura

Track length3:15

$1.00

$1.30

Ligeti: Andante and Allegretto

Work length13:11

$2.00

$2.60

Quator Diotima

I. Andante cantabile

Track length6:29

$1.00

$1.30

Ii. Allegretto poco capriccioso

Track length6:42

$1.00

$1.30

Ligeti: String Quartet No. 2

Work length19:29

$5.00

$6.50

Quator Diotima

I. Allegro nervoso

Track length4:40

$1.00

$1.30

Ii. Sostenuto, molto calmo

Track length4:41

$1.00

$1.30

Iii. Come un meccanismo di precisione

Track length3:14

$1.00

$1.30

Iv. Presto furioso, brutale, tumultuoso

Track length1:57

$1.00

$1.30

V. Allegro con delicatezza

Track length4:57

$1.00

$1.30

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Quatuor Diotima makes its Pentatone debut with a recording of Györgi Ligeti’s string quartets. While the second quartet from 1968 is an avant-garde classic, the first from 1953-54, “Metamorphoses nocturnes”, is often nicknamed Bartók’s seventh quartet, pointing out the continuity between these two Hungarian master composers. Despite moments of nostalgia, it already possesses the ferocious, adventurous nature of the later quartet. In-between these two iconoclast works, the Andante and Allegretto from 1950 offers an intimate moment of repose. The members of Diotima long postponed recording Ligeti’s string quartets, intimidated by their significance in music history and the demands they place on the players, but now the time has come to pursue this fascinating project and share it with the world. The quartet is fascinated by the cinematic qualities of Ligeti’s music and its use in films, including Stanley Kubrick’s 2001 A Space Odyssey. The album cover pays homage to that iconic movie. Quatuor Diotima is one the most in-demand chamber ensembles in the world today, and has worked in close collaboration with several of the greatest composers of the late twentieth century. Reflected in the mirror of today’s music, the quartet projects a new light onto the masterpieces of the 19th and 20th centuries.

Reviews

April 2023

This thrilling new release of the Transylvanian composer’s music for string quartet embraces three contrasting periods of his output...These players, who have specialised in modern music since forming their ensemble at the Paris Conservatoire 27 years ago, are formidable throughout.

Sep/Oct 2023

The Quatuor Diotima masterfully embraces the contrasting expressive and sonic worlds of the three Ligeti works. They are also fearless in the Quartets’ severe technical demands. The level of execution, both individual and ensemble, is electrifying...a superb release.

June 2023

It’s clear that Quatuor Diotima have pondered upon the work for some time. They face Ligeti’s nocturnal phantasmagoria head-on, and in doing so they render it in all its hard-won beauty.

16th March 2023

They make enormous technical and musical demands, and the performances by the Quatuor Diotima meet their challenges with more accuracy and brilliance than any I’ve heard before. Every detail of the string writing, all informed by Ligeti’s phenomenal aural imagination, is crystal clear, the shape of each movement utterly lucid.

Metamorphosis Ligeti

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