Konzert

Ligeti‘s violin concerto, in its final form, is in five movements. As if each of the movements were not astonishing enough for the breadth of ideas as it is, the finale layers them all on top of each other. The shimmering harmonics, the slow-moving, soaring melodies, the rhythmic complexities combine to raise the level of excitement. After a brief episode of the Hungarian folksong, the music reaches a dramatic, multiple-forte climax before the violin launches into the final cadenza which is the most dramatic moment of the work. The concerto ends almost immediately, as if cut off in the middle.