Musician of the Month: György Ligeti

György Sándor Ligeti was born in 1923 in Transylvania, Romania. He was, however, from a Hungarian family and for many years, this was the only language he was exposed to. He grew up in a turbulent period in Hungarian history, with the Trianon treaty reducing the borders of the country drastically. These factors, it is suggested, perhaps played a formative role in his musical development, as he grew up as an “outsider” culturally, as well as being isolated from the musical scenes elsewhere in European cities.

It is possible that this separation from ‘classical’ musical methods and traditions that were being taught and performed in cities like Vienna and Budapest helped Ligeti’s style develop so uniquely. He said he had to rely much more on his “own imagination” when composing – he would picture how he wished the sounds and elements of the music to be in his head before writing his piece.

His music is very different to that of some of the Classical European composers you may be used to hearing! Listen to one of his famous pieces, Atmosphères, in the video below, written for ensemble in 1961. This piece has been used by directors in films, perhaps because of the atmosphere or ambience it creates. What do you think Ligeti was imagining about the music when he wrote this piece?

Click Read More to learn more about Ligeti and listen to another piece!

Ligeti was interested in what he called “static movement” in his music, which meant that the listener does not necessarily sense a progression of time while listening to the piece. Especially in this piece, Atmosphères, Ligeti has created a “sound mass”, where the focus is the texture and timbre of the music, rather than individual notes.

Below is another example of Ligeti’s work, in which it is easier to identify and follow the melody played by the six woodwind instruments. Even though this piece, written eight years before Atmosphères, sounds less experimental than his later micropolyphonic music, you can still hear that the music is very complex, both its rhythm and the melody.