Ligeti's Continuum (1968) is a short work indeed: according to the composer, all the notes in this single prestissimo movement must be played within the span of four minutes. The work is written for harpsichord, as much because the required speed would be nigh impossible to achieve on the heavier action of piano as because of the fact that the composer calls for two separate manuals. The hands play continuously at this furious pace in a manner that renders single sonorities imperceptible; instead, the sonic flurry blurs into a "continuum."

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