György Ligeti - Cello Concerto (Full Score)
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- čas přidán 24. 07. 2024
- Concerto for Cello and Orchestra (1966)
Written by: György Sándor Ligeti (1923-2006)
Performed by: Alexis Descharmes (Cello) and Ensemble C barré (directed by Sébastien Boin)
[0:00] I. ♩ = 40 - attacca:
[8:29] II. (Lo stesso tempo) ♩ = 40
Written in 1966 for the cellist Siegfried Palm, Ligeti takes one of his earlier steps into his experimental style with the Cello Concerto; following shortly after the completion of the famous requiem and around the same time as the Lux Aeterna. With his extremely distinctive ideas influenced by the contrapuntal ideas of early composers, Ligeti forges a sound world that was never heard before. The timbres that Ligeti crafted can only be described as "other-worldly". Aside from the unique timbre, the relationship that Ligeti forms between the solo cellist and the orchestra is anything but ordinary. Managing Editor of the Met Museum Michael Cirigliano II calls this type of writing to be almost an "anti-concerto" Ligeti notates the solo cellist as part of the string section, frequently merging seamlessly into whatever texture is being projected by the strings. The orchestra itself is much smaller itself, allowing each voice/instrument to be distinct within the complex layers of the writing.
Ligeti originally planned the concerto in one movement, comprised of 27 linked fragments, He later altered this idea and expanded the contents of the first fragment to encompass an entire single movement. The other 26 fragments comprise of the second movement. The first fragment and movement reminds one of an ever-changing but always present object, amorphous and volatile. The solo cello opens by playing an E-natural con sordino marked at a "pppppppp" dynamic. The rest of the strings slowly enter, setting the scene for the rest of the movement. Throughout the entire movement, each section and instrument plays a role in multiple convergences and divergences, creating a slow-moving volatile texture that goes in between sparse and dense. There is always a texture though, not once is a note not being held by an instrument at any given time in this movement until the final few bars. This kind of music invokes the utmost intensity, without having to use fast rhythms, quickly contrasting dynamics, or whatever most other composers use to excite.
The second movement is a perfect example of unity and variety. Although each of the 26 fragments (marked by rehearsal letters) is characterized by a plethora of distinct ideas, Ligeti chains them together effortlessly. There is an immaculate balance of contrast between each fragment done in an almost rhapsodic manner. A critical comment of this piece that I found complained that this piece sounds like "the soundtrack to an ant farm. Boring." At first I dismissed this comment as silly and rude (which was most likely the intention of the commenter), but it then led me to a realization. Whether or not the commenter intended it, this analogy in a way fits the piece extremely well. Similarly to the numerous amount of ants on an ant farm, there are numerous voices in this concerto. In the second movement, there is plenty of movement. Ligeti frequently superposes this frantic movement in many layers, creating a resulting texture that resounds as a moving mass of sound; reminiscent of ants or other insects shifting in large masses almost as a singular unit. In a similar fashion as the first movement, the concerto ends with the soloist playing alone, slowly dying away until Ligeti indicates for a hefty moment of silence as part of the piece.
12:38 I listen to this while slowly drunk-driving through crowded areas
This is simply amazing, thank you so much for uploading it. The first movement is so good.
In my mind one of the best scores by Ligeti together with the double concerto (flute & oboe). The outstanding kammerkonzert bridges them to a new and in my opinion more conventional (at least in terms of wriyting technique) which culimates in the trio for horn, violin and piano. The mast striking feature of the first movement is the radical disruptin which leads from a quite tiny anf fuzzy writing delicately polarized by B to a clear strong E, the harmonic antipod. We can find similar "gestures" in th first movement of the Kammersymphony. Debussy or thr nocturnal Bartok could hardly imagine something as vanescent as the end of the concerto. It is like a strangulation. It could bea quite personal Ligeti's metaphor of Wozzeck's death in the lake.
Beautiful piece (and description!)
5:56 Did you say "Beautiful"??
@@nicosuarez6962 absolutely!
Marvelous composition, magnificent performance.
so good...
Lovely
I love the second movement it sounds like Xenakis
Ligeti is one of my favorite composers, but I'll admit that this is one piece of his I just don't get. The first movement is okay, but I've always found the 2nd to be off-putting. He uses a couple of these same ideas a few years later in his Chamber Concerto to a much greater effect (probably one of his best works imo). I do really appreciate the score video, though!
i think your observation is spot-on. One must always follow ones' ears and be prepared to admit that not everything a great composer is itself great.
Big geti
spa geti
Beeg geti
leg gidi
Incredible piece! May I ask you where did you find the critical comment you talk about in the description?
czcams.com/video/x6JTX-jiY1A/video.html last comment for me on this video
@@zgart I meant the one which talks about the "soundtrack to an ant farm"
@@giovannilandini3301 yep it’s on that video
12:26 what's that matrix up in the score?
In the start he takes 90 fucking second for play one note.... 😒
Yes he does! 😁
They didnt steal antything yet! Dont you get it?
Wut
I'm not taking the Heat from my boss, they're not walking!
No doubt many will disagree, but I've always found this to one of Ligeti's less successful works, mannered and insubstantial : there's just too little going on! The other concertos are far more engaging.
I find this one a very unflattering way to use a solo cello. The other concertos have their nasty technical challenges, but the sonorities that result tend to be more satisfying than the sound of a string player struggling to make their bow last long enough without letting the string stop responding entirely.