Presentation

On 28 May 2023, György Ligeti would have turned one hundred. A cosmopolitan, avant-garde composer, he left a lasting mark on jazz musicians through his quest for new paths, from sound-surface music to micropolyphony and microtonality. For this anniversary, Emile Parisien and Roberto Negro dedicate a duo album to him.

This is far from a circumstantial move: the story is an old one. Eight or nine years ago, the two musicians found themselves in Roberto’s kitchen talking about music and discovered a shared passion for Ligeti, and for his String Quartet No. 1, “Métamorphoses nocturnes” (1953–1954). They had already played it with the Quatuor Béla. Born in Turin and raised in Kinshasa, Roberto also finds a personal echo in Ligeti’s interest in sub-Saharan African music and in his polyrhythmic aesthetic.

The duo draws on the rhythms of the work to structure the adaptation, cut into eleven parts, each with its own tempo. Original motifs, atmospheres and colours keep returning, extended by their own harmonies and by improvisation. The quartet’s 22 minutes become 45 minutes on the album, and more in concert: hence the shortened title, “Métanuits”.

The result is goldsmith’s work in which everything fits together: virtuosity, exploration of all the sonic possibilities of the instruments, fast tempi (allegro, presto, prestissimo) and a final largo to catch one’s breath, with unexpected lyrical warmth.