20th century string quartet cycles

[EigenUser]

Ligeti's are great.

In a biography (I've read a few and forgot which one said this), I read that he was planning two more. Apparently the third would have been similar to the first and the fourth would have been similar to the second. I find his chamber music more difficult for me to appreciate than the orchestral works. I really love the 1st SQ, but the 2nd one is a tough nut to crack. I do like the "10 Pieces for Wind Quintet" though, and that is along the lines of the 2nd SQ (whereas "Six Bagatelles" is along the lines of the 1st -- even some common themes between the two, and of course the piano cycle "Musica Ricercata").

Glad to hear you're a Ligeti fan, too!

[EigenUser]

Oh yea .. I've liked Ligeti for decades. He's one of the BIG BEASTS of "our time" without a doubt. And the 2nd Quartet is total Ligeti, and contains all of the elements that are distinct and unique to his own musical vocabulary.

The 2nd quartet is definitely total Ligeti! There are some parts that I like, for instance, the 3rd movement ('like a precision mechanism'). And the 5th movement (the way the four members seem to evaporate in the last measure -- very cool!).

A similar piece that is more to my taste is his "Chamber Concerto for 13 Instrumentalists". I'm not a huge fan of string quartets, in general, so that probably explains it.

[Karl Henning]

Glad to hear you're a Ligeti fan, too!

James keeps to a small pond.  But in that small pond, he paddles enthusiastically.