String Quartet No.1 Métamorphoses nocturnes (1953-4)

Allegro grazioso – Vivace, capriccioso – Adagio, mesto – Presto – Andante tranquillo – Tempo di valse, moderato, con eleganza, un poco capriccioso – Allegretto, un poco gioviale ­– Prestissimo

The Ligeti we know best – the composer transformed by his contact with West-European musical developements after his escape from Hungary in 1956 – rarely betrays his nationality. In his First String Quartet, written for his “bottom drawer” when he had no chance of having it performed, his Hungarian origin is clear from the start, as is his allegiance to Bartók. Interestingly, however, during the course of these eight highly inventive nocturnal variations on a four-note theme more and more of the future Ligeti becomes apparent – not only the acutely sensitive ear but also the engaging wit and the refreshingly liberated imagination.