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June13,2006
GyorgyLigeti,CentralEuropeanComposerofBleaknessandHumor,Diesat83

Griffiths,Paul.
TheContemporaryComposersGyorgyLigeti
.
56ClipstoneStreetLondon:RobsonBooksBolsoverHouse,1983.

PaulGriffithsGyorgyLigeti

introduction

FirstheardLigetiatlondoncinemashowingof2001

Ligetiwasbornin1923inTranssylvaniainapartthathadbeenapartofHungary.Earlyon
movedtoClujorKolozsvar.StudiedwithFerencFarkasapupilofRespighi.Alsohadlessons
withPalKadosainBudapest,whobelongedtotheKodalyschool.AftersurvivingWWII
concentrationcampsbyluck,hereturnedtohisschoolingattheBartokandKodalyAcademyof
MusicinBudapest.TeachersthereincludedFarkas,SandorVeress,andPalJardanyi.1949
StalinistregimestightenedtheirgripinHungary.(Thiswasmostlikelypartofthebirthofhis
distastefordogmaticregimeswhichbecomesimportantwhenhemovestoCologne)Itwasnt
until1956therewasalittlemorefreedomaftertherevolution(whatrevolution?)inHungary.
(Shostokovich,Gubaidulina,theRussians)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hungarian_Revolution_of_1956

p5

Ligetiwenttotheconservatoryinsteadoftheuniversitytostudyphysicsbecauseitwashardfor
ajewtogetintotheuniversitybythetimehewas18.

LosthisbrotherandfathertoAuschwitz.Motherwastheonlyonetoreturn.

Survivedbyluckanddesertingthelaborcoreduringabattleandwalkedbacktotransylvania.

p11
LigetisgraduationcantatawasclosesttoBrittens
SpringSymphony

p13

1955wasthefirsttimeligetiheardbartoks3rdand4thstringqts

berglyricsuite,schoenbergstringqt.2

nov71956GesangderJunglingewhenradiojammingwasinterrupted.hearditduringa
bombinginacellar.

195556useofrowstoliberatehimselffrombartok

viziokapparitionsmovtI

leftdecember1956forcolognebytraininthemiddleoftherevelutionwhilerussiawasinvading.

CrawledthroughminefieldmudintoAustria.

1957arrivedcolognethroughcorrespondencewithstockhausenandHerbertEimert
analysisbystructurespublishedindiereihe

Imveryimfluencedbythisideaoffeedbackbetweentechnologyandimagination,bythekind
ofthinkingthatsnaturalifyouworkwithcomputers.p17

195758
theideamicropolyphonicwebswasasortofinspirationthatigotfromworkinginthestudio,
puttingpiecestogetherlayerbylayer.Iwasverymuchinfluencedtoobyoldermusic,bythe
verycomplexpolyphonyofOckeghem,forexample:afterall,Ihadbeenateacherof
counterpoint.Butitwasthestudioworkthatgavemethetechnique.Forinstance,Ihadtoread
uponpsychoacousticsatthetime,andIlearnedthatifyouhaveasequenceofsoundswhere
thedifferenceoftimeislessthanfiftymillisecondsthenyoudonthearthemanymoreas
individualsounds.p18

(relationsbetweenbartok,debussy,ockeghem,andtheelectronicstudio)

Webernsabandonmentofmotivicthematicthoughtcombinedwithdebussyandockeghem

westgermanradioelectronicstudioincologne

p22
thesonorityandtheform,unfolding,theflowofthemusic.Itwasaliberationformea
liberationfromthisthinkinginbars,thismeasuredtime.

Atmospheresmirrorcanoninfortyeightparts
compression
bands

whenIthinkinmusicIthinkintuitively,butwhenIcompose,Itransformthatbymeansof
constructionsnotasinserialmusic,orXenakisswork,butbyconstructionscloserto
counterpoint,totheisorhythmicmotetortoaverylearnedcounterpoint,likeOckeghems.

verygreatinterestinthemusicofockeghemwasstimulatedbythefactthatinOckeghems
musicthereareimitationshalfregulated,halffree,justasin
Atmospheres.

themetamorphosisofmusicalformcalledthepermeabilityofmusicalstructures
theircapacitytomixwithothersorstandapart

OfcourseIhavenolikingforanythingexpresslyillustrativeorprogrammatic,butthatdoesnot
meanIdefendmyselfagainstmusicthatsuggestsassociations.Onthecontrary,soundsand
musicalcontextscontinuallybringtomymindthefeelingofcolour,consistency,andvisibleor
eventastableform.Andontheotherhand,colour,form,materialqualityandevenabstract
ideasinvoluntarilyarouseinmemusicalconceptions.Thatexplainsthepresenceofsomany
extramusicalfeaturesinmycompositions.Soundingplanesandmasses,whichmaysucceed,
penetrateorminglewithoneanotherfloatingnetworksthatgettornuporentangledwet,
sticky,gelatinous,fibrous,dry,brittle,granularandcompactmaterials,shreds,curlicues,
labrynths,inscriptions,texts,dialogues,insectstates,events,processes,blendings,
transformations,catastrophes,disintegrations,disappearancesalltheseareelementsofthis
nonpuristmusic.

OveNordwall,GyorgyLigeti:EineMonographie,p.41

Nordwall,Ove,Ligetidokument(Stockholm,1968)
GyorgyLigeti:EineMonographie,p.41(Mainz,Schott,1971)

Rollin,RobertL.,LigetisLontano:TraditionalCanonicTechniqueinaNewGuise,
Music
Review
(1980),28996

Stienitz,Richard,Music,MathsandChaos,MusicalTimes,
cxxxvii/3(1996),pp1420TheDynamicsofDisorder,
MusicalTimes
ibid.5(1996),pp714WeepingandWailing,
ibid.8(1996),pp1722

spatializationoftheflowoftime

andthecomposerswholesensibilityisembodiedinafusionofimaginationandmemory.p35
paulgriffiths

requiemlacramosa

luxaeterna

thecondensationofclustersintointervals

reintroductionofharmony.

fintonedbysopranosandcontraltos

gpillar
acousticscale

dorianwithraised7thDEBUSSYBartok!!nightmusic?

Therearetonalcenters,butthelanguageischromatic:Ithinkthatcanbeseenverycclearlyin
BartoksSecondQuartet.

gives,asittransformsitself,ametallicsonoritycomingfromtheacousticscale,butalittle
jumbled...Thechoiritselfisntmetallic,butitsasifyouhadabell,orsomethinglikethat..I
synthesizeasortofimaginarybellwithhumanvoices

conversations

p54

InLontanoalltheinstrumentsareontheplatform,buttherearesensationsofdistanceon
severallevels.
p56harmonies

Lontano

ligetiinconversationpp98
softcrystalformations
colorfultoneandharmony
harmoniccrystalsthatdissolveandprecipitate,sometimeslittlebylittle,sometimesallat
onceandscintillant

doublenegationofharmonyandnonharmony

butinLontano,processesofchangearesomuchdecelerated,theybegintobecome
significant,andtohelpcreatethemusicsessentialimpalpabilityandmystery.

Itis,Ligetihassaid,aparodyofLuxAeternaintheRenaissancesense.p57

harmoniesfororganyetanothertranspositionofimageconcepts

continuumGBflatFinversiongranulation

resultantrhythmtheactualrhythmofthepieceisapulsationthatemergesfromthe
distributionofthenotes,fromthefrequencyoftheirrepetions.

coulee(flow)

HenriBergson
MaterialandMemory
CreativeEvolution
Intuitiveanalysisbutanalysiscantgotointuitiveunderstandingorimageofbeinginsidethe
phenomena.

Soundasmaterial
doesthiscomefromromanticparsimoniousvoiceleading?pianoasspace?instrumentas
spacefilling

resonance
harmonicoscillators

degreesoffreedom
numberofindependentparameters

P88