"Ligeti’s Études are the kind of musical mountain that not all pianists will be willing to climb, and the ones that do have to hold themselves to standards that mean that, while the number of recordings is growing, none that I know of are a truly poor representation. Cathy Krier has a fine pedigree and a busy schedule. Wolfgang Rihm has composed for her, and she has made several highly regarded albums on the CAvi-music label, including a programme that combines Ligeti’s Musica ricercata with works by Rameau. (...)
Every piece in these three books of Études is a highlight of one kind or another and, all comparisons aside, Cathy Krier’s performances mostly stand on their own terms as a fine collection. The ecstatic heights of Galamb Borong are remarkable as ever, and the slower tempi in Vertige and L'escalier du diable let us hear things we might not have previously noticed. Anyone who can get their instrument to sit up and beg as is demanded by Der Zauberlehrling has my undying respect, though I was less convinced by Krier’s rather leaden “Coloana infinită”. Book 3 has À bout de souffle which Krier plays with suitable urgency."
