(...) Ligeti's Ramifications of 1968-69 for string orchestra was played in a version for twelve solo strings, divided into two sextets, each tuned a quarter tone apart. Though only eight minutes long, it's a complex piece, and while it may be difficult to understand quite what is going on, the work's imaginative invention makes an immediate impression, and the playing, under the direction of Susanna Malkki, was superb.
Malkki is a real presence on the rostrum, and obviously enjoys great rapport with the players, evident in the splendid performance of Haydn's Symphony No. 60. This had tremendous energy and the real sense of theatre needed for a work that had its origins as instrumental music to a play. (...)
