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MUSIC AND DANCE

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BOULEZ: “Notations I-IV.” LIGETI: “Atmospheres”; “Lontano.” NONO: “Liebeslied.” RIHM: “Depart.” Vienna Philharmonic and Youth Choir, conducted by Claudio Abbado. Deutsche Grammophon 429 260-2. This scintillating 1988 live recording preserves the first of Abbado’s “Wien Modern” concerts, a bold attempt to stretch skeptical ears in the Austrian capital. The main thing that Rihm’s explosions, Ligeti’s interplanetary clusters and Boulez’s raging torrents have in common is lots of bizarre orchestral color--an easy way to attract new audiences for new music. The Nono serves as a subdued choral intermezzo; otherwise Abbado and the Viennese are on fire throughout, reaching a flaming peak in “Notation IV.”

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