Arts Preview: In praise of Hungarian composer György Ligeti

LIGETI’S IT!
Hong Kong New Music Ensemble

Hong Kong New Music Ensemble founder William Lane first came across composer György Ligeti’s work through a sonata the violist played at his graduate recital at the University of Tasmania – and he has been impressed with it ever since.

Lane relocated to Hong Kong in 2008. He founded the ensemble the same year, with the aim of highlighting masters’ works from the past 50 years, especially those that may not have much commercial appeal in the city.

“Each movement in the piece is different – one of them is influenced by Hungarian folk music and the rest are inspired by Polynesian music or Bach,” he says.

“It’s very diverse. For me that’s very appealing. He is a creative polyglot, but his music is seldom played here. He has a fantastic repertoire that should be heard more in Hong Kong.

“People may have heard his music in Stanley Kubrick’s film [2001: A Space Odyssey], but they may just not have heard Ligeti’s name.”

That may change with this Sunday’s Ligeti’s It! concert, featuring saxophonist Timothy Sun and harpsichordist Chung Chi-woo.

Lane says it offers a broad spectrum of the late Hungarian composer’s music – from the 1950s through the ‘80s. The idea is to present an overview of the different styles and periods of Ligeti’s career.

Poème symphonique (1962), which kicks off the concert, assembles 100 schoolchildren playing metronomes, setting them off one at a time and at different speeds.

“It’s a very visual work as well as aural. It’s like an art installation in its own right,” says Lane.

Under the baton of guest conductor Ulrich Pöhl, the line-up includes Ligeti’s Chamber Concerto (1969-70) and the world premiere of Imaginary Friends (2013) by local composer Fung Lam.

Other works include Six Bagatelles for Wind Quintet (1953), Continuum for Solo Harpsichord (1968), and Trio for Violin, Horn and Piano (1982).

The concert also sees the launch of the ensemble’s Chamber Voices – a new initiative that focuses on contemporary vocal repertoire.

Conducted by John Winzenburg of Hong Kong Baptist University, they will perform Magány (1946), Pápainé (1953) and the 1999 work Haj, ifjuság! (meaning “Oh, youth!”).

With about 140 performers in the concert, Ligeti’s It! also promises to be the group’s biggest concert to date.

vanessa.yung@scmp.com

Academy for Performing Arts, Jockey Club Amphitheatre, 1Gloucester Road, Wan Chai, September 22, 7.30pm, HK$150-HK$300 HK Ticketing. Inquiries: 3568 8470