These reissues of pioneering recordings of contemporary works are a good introduction to the sound world of György Ligeti. Several genres are included, opening with a pair of striking works for the organ, played here by Gerd Zacher, who championed the composer after his escape from Soviet-dominated Hungary. Volumina is an adventurous, 17-and-a-half minute exploration of the expressive capabilities of the instrument, including ghostly sounds made by blowing across its small pipes. The Kontarsky brothers are at their best in the Three Pieces for Two Pianos. The first moves from a Lisztian chord to notes repeated in irregular rhythms, suggesting a clockwork gone berserk. The second is at once an homage to and a takeoff on minimalism; the final one, a whirlwind tour de force with hints of Bach and Chopin lurking in the background. Fascinating. So are the two wordless Aventures, in which grunts, shrieks, and whispers are transformed into a mini-opera, and Mysteries of the Macabre, an adaptation of a section from Ligeti’s opera Le Grand Macabre, played with verve by Hakan Hardenberger. – Dan Davis

Release Date:‎ 2002
Label: Deutsche Grammophon
ASIN: ‎B000066I9D