London Sinfonietta

The form of the concerto inspired Ligeti to different important works, such as the 'concerto for violin,' the 'double concerto for flute and oboe', the 'anti-concerto for cello' and the 'concerto for piano'. Especially the terminology of the 'horn concerto' or the 'Hamburgisches Konzert' contains references to Bach's 'Brandenburg' concertos. This is both a wink to the past and a reference to the city, where the oeuvre was written, and where Ligeti has been living for the past thirty years. The dialogue is mainly between the soloist, the natural horns, and the chromatic instruments: a debate between chromatic serialism and diatonic, orally transmitted material. In the Concert for violin and orchestra, Ligeti explores a new tonic system that intends to propose an alternative to the Western European 'welltempered' system or to twelve-tone music. Worked into the entire concert are quotations of other composers. For this opening concert of the festival 'music@venture', London Sinfonietta combines the concerts of Ligeti with two works of the conductor and composer George Benjamin.