Streichquartett Nr. 1 / Streichquartett Nr. 2

Album by György Ligeti & Arditti Quartet

Streichquartett Nr. 1 / Streichquartett Nr. 2 is a pairing of two string quartets by György Ligeti, composed in 1953–54 and 1968. Musically, the works chart Ligeti's evolution from an early post‑war modernist idiom that employs dissonant harmonies, folk-influenced gestures and extended string techniques to a later, more experimental quartet characterised by dense, slowly evolving textures and intricate contrapuntal webs that signal a major shift in his compositional approach.