The Ligeti Project V

The fifth volume of "The Ligeti Project" apparently concludes the series of the complete works of Gyorgy Ligeti, started by Sony and continued by Teldec. The program consists of miscellaneous pieces performed by an ad hoc group of musicians, and the album's grab bag quality may limit its appeal. Aventures and Nouvelles aventures call for extremely bizarre vocal sounds, and Sarah Leonard, Linda Hirst, and Omar Ebrahim bring off these exploratory works with theatrical mayhem and insane glee. Artikulation is vintage electronic music from 1958, but difficult to judge from its brevity and similarity to other tape experiments of the time. Max Bonnay performs his arrangement of eight of the Musica ricercata for accordion, which are attractive but lack the incisiveness of the piano originals. The lyrical Sonata for cello, played warmly by David Geringas, is the most enjoyable work for lay listeners, and appreciation requires no theoretical explanations. Peter Masseurs plays The Big Turtle-Fanfare from the South China Sea, a disappointing snippet for trumpet. Reinbert de Leeuw conducts the Asko-Schonberg Ensemble in the Ballade and Dance, after Romanian folk songs, and the Old Hungarian Ballroom Dances, two quaint, salon-styled works that bring this assortment of odds and ends to a nostalgic close.