Stretching the performer to extraordinary technical feats, they are unified by poetic imagery that ranges from Autumn in Warsaw to the ‘Sorcerer’s Apprentice’, from rainbows to ‘the Devil’s Staircase’.

Ligeti’s startling imagination, with all its quirky humour, virtuoso manipulation of rhythm and apparently limitless mix of sonic colour, has created a true contemporary classic.

This is a special opportunity to hear the complete Etudes played by the composer’s own preferred interpreter, and to explore the music further as he discusses it in an onstage interview with Southbank Centre’s Director of Music, Gillian Moore, in the second half.