Ligeti’s 18 piano études (1985-2001) have acquired the status of true classics of new piano music. Extremely virtuosic, highly emotional, and suffused with a series of wide-ranging associations, these pieces are exemplary for the variety we encounter in Ligeti’s late works. The pianist is faced with a series of challenges: being asked to play “as rapidly as possible (or even faster)”, to transform the instrument into a sort of acoustic endless staircase, or to play up to seven different simultaneous parts with only ten fingers. Ligeti allowed himself to be inspired by the virtuosity of Pierre-Laurent Aimard when he composed some of his most complex piano études. On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of Ligeti’s birth, Aimard presents the entire cycle of études in one sole evening at the Ruhr Piano Festival.