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The Ligeti Project was the brainchild of Vincent Meyer, President
of the Philharmonia Orchestra in London, to present the complete
music of the great Hungarian composer György Ligeti around
his 75th Birthday, 28 May 1998. Ligeti approached Esa-Pekka
Salonen, one of the greatest interpreters of his music, and
Ligeti and Salonen became joint Artistic Directors of the project.
As the project grew, a creative partnership evolved between an orchestra
(Philharmonia Orchestra), a recording company (SONY Classical),
venues (South Bank Centre and Châtelet) and a management company
(Van Walsum Management). This kind of partnership was unique at
the time and it has left a lasting impression of what can be achieved
- given financial support and vision - with the great musical talents
of our time.
The Project ...
An eight-concert series at the Royal Festival Hall, London and
the Théâtre du Châtelet, Paris with accompanying
tours to Europe and Japan - some 50 concerts in all featuring soloists
of the calibre of Mitsuko Uchida, Frank Peter Zimmermann, Viktoria
Mullova and Heinz Holliger.
A new production of Ligeti's opera Le Grand
Macabre directed by Peter Sellars and co-presented by the
Salzburg Festival and Théâtre du Châtelet.
Sony made recordings of Ligeti's complete chamber music, selected
orchestral music and a live recording of Le Grand Macabre.
All eight concerts at the South Bank Centre were broadcast by BBC
Radio 3.
Chamber music concerts, education projects, an exhibition covering
Ligeti's life and work, film screenings and pre-concert talks.
Education projects covering a wide range of abilities and age ranges,
including some remarkable work with special needs students.
Working alongside the Philharmonia Orchestra for Paris and London,
Van Walsum Management part-devised, sold, contracted, serviced and
tour-managed all of the concerts. |