CD Spotlight. Remarkable ingenuity - Lukas Ligeti's 'Mystery System', reviewed by Malcolm Tattersall. '... the playing, by the Amadinda Percussion Group, is dazzling.'

<< -- 3 -- Malcolm Tattersall REMARKABLE INGENUITY

Delta Space begins with a flippant little theme which develops considerable momentum in spite of a series of interruptions [listen -- track 5, 0:00-1:09] and then disintegrates into sonic rubble. When all seems lost, it regenerates as casually as it dissolved, incorporating all the conflicting elements in the process to end with a kind of attention-deficient hyperactive euphoria [listen -- track 5, 14:19-15:37].

Together, the first and last items constitute a conclusive demonstration that the piano is a percussion instrument. (I have long found that view more convincing than the common belief that piano tone is a pseudo-neutral colour, like the blue of denim jeans, but that is by the by.)

More to the point, they demonstrate that Lukas Ligeti has a very individual compositional talent. It will be interesting to see where it takes him.

Lukas Ligeti - Mystery System

TZ 7099 Stereo NEW RELEASE 52'50" 2004 TZADIK

Amadinda Percussion Group (Károly Bojtos, Aurél Holló, Zoltán Rácz, Zoltán Váczi); Ethel (Ralph Farris, viola, Dorothy Lawson, cello, Todd Reynolds, Mary Rowell, violins); Stefan Rodesco, violin, viola; Denys Viollet, cello; Kathleen Supové, piano

Lukas Ligeti: Pattern Transformation (1988) for four players on two marimbas; Moving Houses (1996 rev 2003) for string quartet; Independence (2002) for percussion quartet; New York to Neptune (1998) for string quartet and drum machine; Delta Space (2002) for pianist, Yamaha Disklavier and sampler

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