When this disc first appeared in the mid 1970s I remember being struck by the continuity of style in Ligeti's compositions, each work a seemingly natural progression from the preceding works; developing ideas and discarding others in a continually evolving voyage of discovery. Fifteen years later, and with a better overall perspective of his oeuvre, the observation still holds good. However, this can also be seen as the disc's Achilles heel, for we are presented here with three sequentially composed works, dealing for the most part with similar creative ideas: multilayered struc- tures, polyrhythms, micro-tonality etc., and I tend to agree with DJF when he detected ''the faint sound of a barrel-bottom being scraped'' in his review of Elgar Howarth's account for BIS/Conifer of the Double Concerto.
We now have three versions of the Chamber Concerto in the catalogue (a considerable achievement for a contemporary composer). The performance on Wergo/Harmonia Mundi with the Vienna Die Reihe Ensemble is poorly recorded, with less than ideal internal balances. Pierre Boulez and the Ensemble Intercontemporain on DG are only marginally better recorded, but have the distinct advantage of a more cogently argued performance. With this reissue however, we gain the best of both worlds; the recording is exceptionally well balanced, and the performance to my mind comes pretty close to ideal.
The Double Concerto has only one rival to contend with, although the performances differ so widely with respect to timings (Howarth's 12'23'' compared with Atherton's 16'58'') that they hardly bear comparison. The BIS recording was made under the supervision of the composer, so one would assume this to be a fairly accurate account of Ligeti's intentions, although personally I prefer Atherton's more expansive approach, particularly in the opening movement where the timings are at their most divergent. Atherton here generates a greater feeling of atmosphere and menace, and the second movement benefits from a considerably clearer and more well defined recording than its BIS rival.
Melodien, with its abundance of densely woven melodic strands is given a glitteringly virtuosic performance by the London Sinfonietta, and by way of a bonus Decca have included the Vienna Wind Soloists superb account of the Ten Pieces for wind quintet.
A welcome reissue then, especially for those already initiated into Ligeti's unique sound world. If, however, you are approaching his music for the first time, then I would recommend DG's more varied and contrasted compilation in their excellent 20th Century Classics series.'