In the 1960s, Ligeti wrote some of the most intense avant-garde music to reach an international audience. It keeps the listener at the edge of the seat and it is not until after the passage of some time that many listeners can look back and hear the music for its playful side. There was something of the Angry Young Man in his extreme dissonances—in spite of his being an adult—but the relentless vitality of his scores feature a humorous good nature and seamless craft that lend depth to the cosmopolitan composer. These ten pieces are highly idiomatic and exploratory. In each movement there is a joy of music and life that cannot help but be infectious; the right articulation of vigor always has an implication of youth, but there is no guesswork in the language Ligeti created for himself. As a student in his native Budapest, he displayed an extreme talent for orchestration and counterpoint, but by the time he wrote this wind quintet he had long since successfully transplanted his family from Hungary (which was under Soviet control) to Vienna. There, he became a celebrated composer and, in 1968, the year this work was written, his vocal work Lux aeterna was included in the film 2001, making him the first serious avant-garde composer to reach a mass audience. In short, things were good, and the unshakable confidence and effervescence of his character are easily appreciated in this work. The language is what he called micropolyphony, which takes chorale-style writing, reduces the traditional distance between the voices, and speeds them up. The quintet also uses sustained chords with tiny modifications in the fabric that reflect the micropolyphonic arabesques, so that however much one musical atmosphere differs from another, the connection is audible on close hearing. Each movement has a different emphasis. Following the introductory opening comes a "Microconcerto for Clarinet." Each instrument is highlighted (microconcerto-style) in the even movements. The odd movements are either tutti movements or leave out one of the performers for variance. Because of the idiomatic nature of the writing, this helps make each movement distinct. Among the many qualities of this work is the clarity of idea. Ligeti makes genius sound like an unqualified blessing, a romp. Those who are skeptical about avant-garde music would do themselves a tremendous service by taking the time to hear this wind quintet, which makes new ideas sound easy and easily grasped. What is more, it is delightful stuff, challenging without the bad blood that comes with the issuance of a challenge.

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