DXIV. LIGETI, György: Andante and Allegretto for String Quartet

DXIV. LIGETI, György (1923-2006)

Andante and Allegretto for String Quartet (1950)
1. Andante cantabile
2. Allegretto poco capriccioso
Molinari Quartet
(12:52)

A nice live performance of what Ligeti referred to as his prehistoric period.

Written for his final examination at the Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest, the work definitely reflects his uncertainty about what he might have been hearing in his head -- but knew what was impossible in Communist Hungary.

In his rush to leave after the revolution in 1956, he left behind most of his manuscripts. This one he somehow decided to take with him. We are fortunate, because this music represents the repressive environment of his prehistoric life.