Hungarian composer György Ligeti (1923-2006) is probably best known to the public through the use of his music in the iconic Kubrick film 2001: A Space Odyssey. Nevertheless, he is known as “one of the most innovative and influential among progressive figures of his time”, responsible for seminal works which are still regularly performed by today’s greatest artists. Written over a period of more than seventeen years, his Études for piano test a pianist virtuosity to the limit. They combine serene moments of beauty with feats of technical prowess, as can be heard in pieces such as White on White or Arc-en-ciel, where the music rises and falls in arcs that seem to evoke a rainbow. © CAvi-Music