“For me, playing and listening to György Ligeti's music is always a deeply in-the-moment experience, just like when I improvise, whether jazz or without any boundaries of genre. The Master's music, while being worked out with mathematical precision down to the smallest detail, constantly renews itself, like an evergreen plant, with unending spontaneity. One could say: Ligeti’s music cannot become stale. The sense of constant change, of flowing dynamism, had a strong influence on me when I was composing this programme, as did the pure logic of the pieces. I also strove to create a purity of structure and form, but also to leave plenty of room for unpredictable musical events to ‘pop out’ and surprise us in the improvisational sections. I have selected complete pieces or excerpts from Ligeti's piano works (Etudes, Musica ricercata) and the Bagatelles for wind quintet as a source of inspiration, and have taken them into dimensions inspired by my imagination and the unique sound of the nonet.”

Daniel Szabo