The three pieces of 1947– Invention, Capriccio No. 1 and No. 2 –begin where Schoenberg’s Op. 19 seems to end, though the rhythmic kernels achieve some extension. Jabbing, skittish, polyphonic and chromatic, the pieces alternate between staccati runs and brief flirtations with legato phrases.

Between 1951-1953 Ligeti composed his Musica Ricercata , a series of eleven miniatures, each devoted to a musical challenge or problem: for instance, Schoenberg and Mahler had argued whether a full composition could be derived from a single note played in several octaves in varying timbres, not a far cry from Ravel’s Bolero. The first of Ricercata develops one note, the second a second interval, and so on.

Experimenting with densities and textures, these etudes correspond to similar arrangements of sound written by Edgard Varese. Hard edged, the pieces can become quite haunted, as the Mesto: Parlando of No. 2, utilized in Eyes Wide Shut. Juxtaposed against the Mesto is the fleet Allegro con spirito, a piece that Duke Ellington or Hoagy Carmichael might have penned. Another quicksilver moment in No. 6. An equally driving etude in the upbeat No. 8. The No.

4 makes a quick allusion to Chopin’s “Minute” Waltz, cross fertilized by demented Ravel. The No. 5 marked Rubato. Lamentso has an affinity to Satie, with piercing ostinati and dark parlando motifs. Debussy might be the dedicatee for No. 7, with its running bass line and simple tenor voice sung by Ondine or a maid with flaxen hair. Bela Bartok enjoys a direct homage in No. 9, Ligeti’s compressed answer to Liszt’s Funerailles .