Sigfried Palm was the dedicatee of the Cello Concerto, and his unique authority combined with the commitment of the ASKO/Schönberg Ensemble and their director Reinbert de Leeuw...makes for a memorable account of this shimmering 60s score.A superb recording, and fascinating sounds from a contemporary composer who never sounds quite like anyone else

This CD forms an ideal overview of Ligeti's work and a great introduction to his music. The Cello Concerto (1966) juxtaposes the primary Ligetian musical 'types' of this period – frozen, imperceptibly changing planes of sound, and surreal gestures which collide in manic and unpredictable ways. Good that Siegfried Palm was able to record a work he himself premiered, in an account less perfectly realised but more characterful than that by Jean-Guihen Queyras (reviewed above). As the title implies, Clocks andClouds (1973) superimposes rigour and freedom – with a nod towards Minimalist thinking of the period – to create the archetypal Ligeti composition.
In what is surprisingly its first commercial recording, balance between voices and ensemble could have had greater spatial depth, but the ethereal nature of the soundscape comes through unimpeded.
In just a decade, the Violin Concerto has established itself as a modern classic, combining Ligeti's love of polyrhythmic interplay and varied tunings with a heady recall of his Bartókian heritage. Frank Peter Zimmermann yields to Saschko Gawriloff in the finely judged poise of the opening Vivacissimo and Intermezzo. Elsewhere, however, his greater immediacy pays off, with a visceral edge to the closing cadenza that's truly hair-raising. If marginally less accurate than Boulez in his handling of the orchestra, Reinbert de Leeuw is more alive to its extremes of emotional anguish and deadpan humour, bringing the music vividly to life.
With personable notes from the composer, this is certainly the Ligeti disc that should be in everyone's collection.