Metamorphosis Ligeti

The Quatuor Diotima presents here a recording of the three complete string quartets by the composer Györgi Ligeti. While the second quartet from 1968 has become an avant-garde classic, the first, titled “Metamorphoses nocturnes” and dating from 1953/54, is sometimes jokingly referred to as Bartók’s 7th Quartet—an allusion to the continuity between the two composers. Despite some nostalgic moments, it already possesses the wild, adventurous quality of the later works. Between these two iconoclastic pieces, the “Andante and Allegretto,” composed in 1950, provides an intimate respite.