Katalin Koltai

This programme showcases new music and arrangements performed on the Ligeti Guitar, offering a fertile world of new guitar soundscapes and extending the boundaries of the traditional guitars language. The Ligeti Guitar is an augmented instrument, developed by Dr Koltai during her PhD. It features a magnetic fretboard and system of single and double-string magnet capos which press the strings into the fret, enabling rapid transformation of the open strings without re-tuning. This revolutionary technology allows the play of any combination of fretted notes, radically extending the guitars voicing and harmonic capacities, and offering creative opportunities in various fields. The idea of this instrumental design originated from arranging Gyrgy Ligetis piano piece, Musica ricercata for guitar. This connection with Ligetis music inspired the choice of the instruments name. In this concert programme, the guitar undergoes continuous transformation by altering the open strings to complement the compositional ideas presented in a variety of arrangements.