100 Years of Ligeti: Improvisations inspired by György Ligeti's String Quartet No. 1 Métamorphoses nocturnes. French soprano saxophonist supreme, Emile Parisien and Italian pianist Roberto Negro - widely considered to be one of the most exciting pianists in Europe, on account of his own projects and his collaboration with the Ceccaldi brothers - now team up as a duo. Métanuits is a fascinating endeavour: a wonderful piece of craftsmanship in which everything seems to interlock. There is high-wire virtuosic playing, exploration of all the tonal possibilities of the instruments by both players. Tempi tend to be on the fast side: (with the indications on the sections 'allegro', 'presto' or 'prestissimo' setting the pace), but with a 'largo' to catch breath at the end. There is also a surprising lyrical warmth, as the pair follow each other through constantly changing re-framings of the the-me, which as is re-heard takes on an irresistible expressi-veness. The overlaps between classical music and jazz are particularly close to my heart. The boundaries between these genres no longer have to exist is Roberto Negro's view. And this is something he and Emile Parisien prove through the natural flow and the surprising approachability of Les Métanuits. In their homage to Ligeti, they don't even bother with the historicising conventions and barriers of an old, abstract or arcane avant-garde. Instead, they let this beguilingly contemporary music resound - and reveal its astonishing communicative strengths.
