Dear friends,

This year marks the centenary of György Ligeti’s birth, and I’d like to mention a number of exciting projects revolving around this special anniversary.

Ligeti in Dialogue

I’ve teamed up with the brilliant percussionist and composer Lukas Ligeti to present “Ligeti in Dialogue,” a duo program for piano and electronic marimba that reflects on threads passing through György Ligeti’s music in a dialogue-like recital. The program includes new works written for the project, exploring the relevance of this musical legacy in the present and future. We shall be premiering Ligeti in Dialogue next week as part of a star-studded concert on the eve of György Ligeti’s birthday at the Budapest Music Center, with further performances due over the coming year.

Publication

“Ligeti’s Macroharmonies,” my book on Ligeti published last year by Springer, has recently been released in a new paperback format. It is now available on all major online book retailers in hardcover and paperback editions, as well as in digital formats on SpringerLink and Amazon (for Kindle). I’m also glad to share that last year the original dissertation version of the work was awarded the CUNY Graduate Center Music Department’s Barry Brook Award for best dissertation of the year.

Programs

Many of my solo programs this year focus on Ligeti, with his piano etudes returning to my recitals after a long hiatus. The last time this set of works played such a central role in my repertoire was when I was growing up in Budapest, and an interesting record of this is a set of videos of 15-year-old me performing the etudes L’escalier du diable and Pour Irina—a charming throwback!

I shall be presenting these exciting projects, among others, in my upcoming performances this year. Please keep an eye on my social media and website for updates, and I hope to see you during my travels.

Kind regards,

Nicolas