The Ligeti Project

 

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.