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György Ligeti, 1923 – 2006
György Ligeti was born on May 28, 1923, in Dicsöszentmárton (today named Tîrnaveni) in Romania. His parents belonged to the Hungarian-Jewish minority in Transylvania, and they soon moved with him to Cluj (Klausenburg), where he began to receive instruction in composition with Ferenc Parkas in 1941. The Nazi regime tore his family apart – his brother and father died in concentration camps, György Ligeti himself was set to forced labour, his mother survived Auschwitz.
After the war ended, Ligeti continued his studies in composing with Ferenc Farkas and Sándor Veress at the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music in Budapest. In addition to his focus on folk music, during this period he also began to develop the concept of a micropolyphonic compositional style. Although his folksong arrangements and his compositions based on Romanian and Hungarian folk melodies were published in Hungary, his new musical ideas could first come to full fruition upon his move to Vienna. This move had become necessary for him for political as well as artistic reasons after the Hungarian revolution of 1956.
In Cologne, he became acquainted with representatives of the avant-garde such as Gottfried Michael Koenig and Herbert Eimert, who invited him to the studio for electronic music at the West German Radio (WDR). He worked there from 1957 to 1958. He was now able to study intensely the music of Mauricio Kagel, Pierre Boulez, and Karlheinz Stockhausen; he himself, however, with compositions such as Artikulation, continued to follow his own compositional path, one which had little to do with serial, structural thinking. His orchestral piece Apparitions, premiered at the festival of the International Society for Contemporary Music in Cologne, helped him to reach a wider audience. His 1961 orchestral work Atmosphères, a seemingly static structure of single voices in constant flux through minute rhythmic, intervallic, and dynamic adjustments, secured his position on the international scene. As this piece, along with his Requiem (1963-65) and the choral piece Lux aeterna (1966), was chosen by Stanley Kubrick to be included in the soundtrack for his film 2001 – A Space Odyssey, Ligeti’s music was introduced to a broader public.
Micropolyphony remained an important point in his works, and was enriched in the coming years through various other components: in his short musical dramas Aventures (1962) and Nouvelles Aventures (1962-65), György Ligeti used an invented language made up of phonetically notated words. He explored the use of micro-intervals in Ramifications (1968-69). In the seventies, he often took an ironic approach to historical models of composition. One main work of this period is the opera Le Grand Macabre, based on a theatrical work by Michel de Ghelderode. It was premiered in Stockholm in 1978. Complex polyrhythms influence the works of the 80s and 90s, including his Piano Concerto (1985) and Violin Concerto (1990-92).
György Ligeti, who lived starting in the mid-1950s partially in Germany and partially in Austria, and in 1967 became an Austrian citizen, was also active as an educator. From 1961 to 1971, he was guest professor for composition in Stockholm, in 1972 he was composer-in-residence at Stanford University, and from 1973 until 1989 he taught at the Hochschule für Musik in Hamburg.
The prizes Ligeti has won for his compositional achievements are so numerous that only some of them can be named here. In 1991 he won the Praemium Imperiale, and in 1993 the Ernst-von-Siemens-Musikpreis. In 2004 he was honoured with the Polar Music Prize from the Royal Swedish Academy of Music.
György Ligeti died in Vienna on 12 June 2006 at the age of 83.
Further lists of György Ligeti’s compositions can be found on the Schott, Universal Edition and Edition Peters websites.
The Paul Sacher Foundation houses manuscripts and recordings of György Ligeti's music, as well as the composer's collected writings edited by Monika Lichtenfeld.Discover György Ligeti's piano works through the interactive website Explore the Score, which has been developed by the Ruhr Piano Festival Foundation under the artistic aegis of Pierre-Laurent Aimard.
The studies that György Ligeti composed in the last two decades of his life are the most important additions to the solo-piano repertoire in the last half-century. On their own terms, the 18 pieces the composer completed [...] continue the great tradition of transcendental piano writing that stretches back to Chopin and Liszt, always testing their performers’ techniques to the limit and sometimes beyond.
The Guardian, Andrew Clemens, 11/03/2021
"Ligeti effectively created a new pianistic vocabulary, while remaining exuberantly himself – the moments when the music seems to evaporate in the highest reaches of the keyboard, or flounders in its lowest depths, find orchestral equivalents throughout his music of more than 40 years."
"One of Ligeti’s most endearing qualities is his antic sense of humor. The three Ligeti works featured on the first half richly represented the satirical, anti-establishment side of the Hungarian composer, even if none of the music showed Ligeti at his most essential."
Chicago Classical Review, Lawrence A.Johnson, 17/02/2018
“From the first delicate notes of Ligeti’s atmospheric and densely structured piece 'Lontano', the hall was held in a state of suspense. Petrenko masterfully succeeded in letting the flowing, finely balanced sound swell up and subside again. The music unfolds as if approaching from afar, and at the end disappears into nothingness.”
Musik Heute, Corina Kolbe, 15/09/2016
“György Ligeti’s Ramifications, an indelible masterpiece of the gauziest microtonal weave […] Here, the tuning of one string group is a quarter-tone lower than the other, creating a quivering web of 24 pitches, moving through extremes of dynamic, pulsing with interference.”
Theartsdesk.com, Helen Wallace, 21/08/2016
“In its introverted way, György Ligeti’s horn trio is one of the most subversive masterpieces of the last half century. It was the work that in 1982 signalled a radical change of direction in Ligeti’s music, taking him away from the European avant garde and towards a style that not only drew on the music of the past but also incorporated elements from other musical cultures. Ligeti went on to refine many of the ideas and techniques he first explored in the trio, but it remains an extraordinary work […].”
The Guardian, Andrew Clements, 22/06/2016
“Ligeti’s great, troublesome [violin] concerto, completed in 1992, reminded us how gripping an unbridled exploration of melodic, rhythmic and harmonic deviation can be.”
Financial Times, Martin Bernheimer, 07/06/2016
“With each passing year, Ligeti’s 18 études for solo piano (1985-2001) seem less like “new music” and more like classics. These pieces’ connection to their ancestors – Debussy’s own set of études, their movement perpetual, whether fast or slow; the grandiose drama of Liszt; the complex rhythmic games of Conlon Nancarrow – are ever more obvious.”
The New York Times, Zachary Woolfe, 17/05/2016
György Ligeti - Mysteries of the Macabre / B. Hannigan · S. Rattle · Berliner Philharmoniker
György Ligeti - Six Bagatelles for wind quintet / CARION
György Ligeti - Musica Ricercata No. 7 / Pierre-Laurent Aimard
Pierre-Laurent Aimard Meisterkurs | Ligeti: Étude Nr. 8 - "Fém" | Teil 1
Pierre-Laurent Aimard über die Zusammenarbeit mit György Ligeti
Ein Film über Geörgy Ligeti
György Ligeti - Aventures (1962-63)
SWR Vokalensemble/Yuval Weinberg
SWR Classic HAC19128.2, 2023
Danny Driver;Hyperion, 2020, CDA68286
Eric Huebner, Yuki Numata Resnick, Adam Unsworth;New focus Recordings, 2020, fcr 269
Hellen Weiß, Gabriel Schwabe;Naxos, 2020, NX 4202
Joonas Ahonen, Christian Poltéra, BIT20 Ensemble, Baldur Brönnimann;BIS, 2016, BIS-2209 SACD
Les Siècles, François-Xavier Roth;Musicales Actes Sud, 2016
Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, George Benjamin;NEOS, 2016, 11422
Shai Wosner, Danish National Symphony Orchestra, Nicolas Collon;Onyx Classics, 2016, ONYX4174
Hidéki Nagano, Pierre Strauch, Jeanne-Marie Conquer, Ensemble intercontemporain, Matthias Pintscher;Alpha, 2015, 217
Noël Akchoté;Noël Akchoté Downloads, 2015, GLC-2
Cathy Krier;Avi-Music, 2014, 8553308
Zürcher Bläserquintett;Jecklin, 2014, Jec 0723-2
Mahan Esfahani;Wigmore Hall Live, 2014, WHLIVE0066
Marco Blaauw, Nicolas Altstaedt, Alberto Rosado, Plural Ensemble, Fabián Panisello;NEOS BBVA, 2014, 11013
Ensemble CARION;
Ars Produktion, 2013, 38 143
Quatuor Béla;æon, 2013, AECD 1332
Armida Quartett;Avi-Music, 2013, 8553298
Benjamin Schmid, Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Hannu Lintu;Ondine, 2013, ODE 1213-2
Kit Armstrong;Sony Classical, 2013, 88883747752
Thomas Hell;Wergo, 2012, WER-6763 2
Patricia Kopatchinskaja, Ensemble Modern, Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra, Peter Eötvös;NAÏVE, 2012, 822186052853
Nobuko Imai, Fredrik Ullén, Hans-Ola Ericsson, Schola Heidelberg, Berlin Philharmonic Wind Quintet, Walter Nußbaum;BIS Records, 2012, Bis 1503
Kim Kashkashian;ECM New Series, 2012, 2240
Münchner Horntrio;Farao Classics, 2012, B 108037
Antje Weithaas, Marie-Luise Neunecker, Silke Avenhaus;BIS, 2012, BIS 1859 SACD
Mei Yi Foo;Odradek Records, 2012, ODRCD302
Mobilis Saxophone Quartet;Gramola Vienna, 2011, 98937
Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester, David Afkham;Orfeo, 2011, C797111B
Cuarteto Casals
Harmonia Mundi, HMC 902062, 2010
Pieter Wispelwey (Violoncello)
Onyx Classics, ONYX 4042, 2009
Susanne van Els (Viola); Cappella Amsterdam; musikFabrik; Daniel Reuss
(Dirigent)
Harmonia Mundi, HMC 901985, 2008
Niklas Eppinger (Violoncello)
Aulos, AUL 66158, 2007
Marco Blaauw (Trompete); Benjamin Kobler (Klavier)
BVHAAST CD 0406, 2007
Rolf Schulte (Violine); William Purvis (Horn); Alan Feinberg (Klavier)
Bridge Records, Inc., Bridge 9012, 2006
Toros Can (Klavier)
L'empreinte digitale, ED 13125, 2005
Arditti Quartet
Wigmore Hall Live, WHLive 0003, 2005
Živilė Karkauskaitė (Klavier)
Lithuanian Music Performers Information Centre – LMPIC CD 001, 2005
Meta4 Quartet
Amadeus – SMF 001-2, 2004
Asko Ensemble; Schönberg Ensemble; Reinbert de Leeuw (Dirigent)
Teldec Classics, 8573-88262-2, 2004
Galliard Ensemble
BBC Music Magazine, BBC MM243, 2004
London Voices; Asko Ensemble; Schönberg Ensemble; Berliner Philharmoniker;
Reinbert de Leeuw, Jonathan Nott, Terry Edwards(Dirigenten)
Teldec Classics, 8573-88263-2, 2003
Michaël Levinas (Klavier)
Accord, 472 915-2, 2003
Idil Biret (Klavier)
Naxos, 8.555777, 2003
Pierre-Laurent Aimard (Klavier); Aka Pygmies
Teldec Classics, 8573-86584-2, 2003
Schönberg Ensemble; Asko Ensemble; Amadinda Percussion Group; Capella Amsterdam;
Reinbert de Leeuw, Daniel Reuss (Dirigenten)
Teldec Classics, 8573-87631-2, 2002
Vidor Nagy (Viola)
Note, CAD 800 913, 2002
Berliner Philharmoniker; Jonathan Nott (Dirigent)
Warner Classics, WSM 8573882612, 2002
Quintetto Arnold
DeAgostini, CL0060-2, 2002
Andras Keller, Janos Pilz (Violine)
ECM Records, 465 849-2, 2002
Kölner Kantorei; Volker Hempfling (Dirigent)
Ars Produktion, 368 406, 2002
Pierre-Laurent Aimard (Klavier); Peter Masseurs (Trompete); Schönberg Ensemble; Asko Ensemble; Reinbert de Leeuw (Dirigent)
Teldec Classics, 8573-83953-2, 2001
Lucille Chung (Klavier)
Dynamic, CDS 358, 2001
Quatuor Habanera
Alpha Productions, Alpha 010, 2001
The Danish Horn Trio
Chandos, CHAN 9964, 2001
Kammerchor Stuttgart; Frieder Bernius (Dirigent)
Carus, 83.208, 2001
Roseau-Quintett
ambitus, amb 97 877, 2001
Erika Haase (Klavier und Cembalo)
col legno, WWE 1CD 20501, 2000
Gloria Cheng-Cochran (Klavier)
Telarc, 80549, 2000
Aulos Wind Quintett
Schwann Musica Mundi (Universal Music), 2000
Artemis Quartett
Ars Musici, AM 1276-2; Westdeutscher Rundfunk, AM 1276-2, 2000
Philharmonisches Orchester Heidelberg; Thomas Kalb (Dirigent)
Antes (Bella Musica), BM 31.9131, 1999
Col legno Aurophon, AU-031 815, 1999
Zürcher Bläserquintett
Jecklin, Jec 0717-2, 1999
Concertgebouw Orchestra Amsterdam; Bernhard Haitink (Dirigent)
NM Classics, 97 014 (14 CDs), 1999
London Sinfonietta Voices; Philharmonia Orchestra London;
Esa-Pekka Salonen (Dirigent)
Sony Classical, S2K 62312 (2 CDs), 1999
Hugo Wolf Quartett Wien
Extraplatte, EX 378-2, 1999
Imke Frank (Violoncello)
EnAvant, EAR 417 001, 1999
Fredrik Ullén (Klavier)
BIS, BIS-CD-983, 1998
Singer Pur
Ars Musici, 5507265, 1998
Saschko Gawriloff (Violine); Marie-Luise Neunecker (Horn); PierreLaurent Aimard (Klavier); Tabea Zimmermann (Viola); London Winds
Sony Classical, SK 62309, 1998
Irina Kataeva, Pierre-Laurent Aimard (Klavier); Elisabeth Chojnacka
(Cembalo); Zsigmond Szathmáry (Orgel)
Sony Classical, SK 62307, 1997
Pierre Charial (Drehorgel); Françoise Terrioux (Metronom); Jürgen Hocker (Klavier)
Sony Classical, SK 62310, 1997
Irina Kataeva, Pierre-Laurent Aimard (Klavier); Mitglieder des Philharmonia Orchestra London; The King’s Singers; Esa-Pekka Salonen (Dirigent)
Sony Classical, SK 62311, 1996, 1997
London Sinfonietta Voices; Terry Edwards (Dirigent)
Sony Classical, SK 62305, 1996, 1997
Sony Classical, SK 62306, 1996, 1997
Chamber Orchestra of Europe; Claudio Abbado (Dirigent)
Deutsche Grammophon Production, DG 449 215-2, 1997
Jory Vinikour (Cembalo)
Octavia Japan, Lieb Co 81 0007, 1997
Quintet Cuesta
KC ACO 94 002, 1997
Wolfgang Boettcher (Violoncello)
Nimbus Records, NI 5616, 1997
Bläserquintett des Südwestfunks Baden-Baden
Elektronisches Studio des Westdeutschen Rundfunks, Köln
Wergo, WER 60161-50; 1996
Albert Schweitzer Quintett
CPO 999 315-2, 1996
Philharmonisches Bläserquintett Berlin
BIS, CD-662, 1996
Dorothea von Albrecht (Violoncello)
ABE DACO 102, 1996
Ensemble ‘die reihe’; Friedrich Cerha (Dirigent)
Vox Box, CDX 5142, 1995
Ars Musici, 5035, 1995
Channel Classics, CCS 7495, 1995
Das Slowakische Bläserquintett
Musica Classic, Msi 790020-2, 1995
Peter Eötvös (Dirigent)
Sony Classical, SK 58 945, 1994
Ensemble intercontemporain; Pierre Boulez (Dirigent)
Deutsche Grammophon, 439 452-2, 1994
Schönberg Ensemble; Asko Ensemble Amsterdam; Reinbert de Leeuw (Dirigent)
Wergo, Wer 60 100-50, 1993
Kammervereinigung Berlin
Deutsche Harmonia Mundi, HM/DMR 2060-2, 1992
Arnold-Schönberg-Chor Wien; ORF-Sinfonie-Orchester; Elgar Howarth (Dirigent)
Wergo, WER 6170-2 (2 CDs), 1991
Stradivarius , STR 33304, 1991
Wergo, WER 60 036 (Vinyl), unbekannt; Heliodor, 2549 004; Wergo, 2549 004 (Vinyl) | Wergo, WER 286 036-2, 1991
Wiener Jeunesse-Chor; Vienna Philharmonic; Claudio Abbado (Dirigent)
Deutsche Grammophon, 429 260-2, 1990
Calamus Ensemble
Note, BR 100 052, 1990
London Sinfonietta; David Atherton (Dirigent)
Decca, 425 623-2; London Records, 425 623-2, 1990
György Ligeti (Dirigent)
Edition Michael Frauenlob Bauer, MFB 008, 1989
Schola Cantorum Stuttgart; Ensemble 'die reihe'; Kammerorchester des Saarländischen Rundfunks; SWF-Sinfonieorchester Baden-Baden;
Ernest Bour, Friedrich Cerha, Clytus Gottwald, Antonio Janigro (Dirigenten)
Wergo, WER 60 162-50, 1988
Wergo, WER 60 161-50, 1988
RSO Stockholm; hr-Sinfonieorchester; SWR Symphonieorchestra;
Elgar Howarth, Michael Gielen, Ernest Bour (Dirigenten)
Wergo, WER 60 163-50, 1988
Volker Banfield (Klavier)
Wergo, Wer 60 134-50, 1987
Boston Symphony Orchestra; William Steinberg (Dirigent)
Deutsche Grammophon, DG 419 475-2, 1987
Erato, ECD 75555, 1987
Voces Intimae String Quartet; Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra;
Elgar Howarth (Dirigent)
BIS, CD 53, 1987
Wergo, WER 60100-50, 1986
ORF, 140007, (Vinyl), 1986
Westwood Wind Quintet
Crystal Records, S750 (Vinyl), 1985
Pro Arte Chor Graz; Karl Ernst Hoffmann (Dirigent)
ORF, 120 934 (Vinyl), 1985
Chor des Norddeutschen Rundfunks
Deutsche Grammophon, 2530 392, 1973 (Germany); 2543 818, 1985 (Brazil)
Erato, STU 71546 (Vinyl), 1984
The Albion Ensemble
FRS, FRS 100 (Vinyl), 1984
piano duo Uriate-Mrongovius; Mitglieder des ORF Chors; ORF RadioSymphonieorchester Wien; Ensemble ‘die reihe’;
Erwin Ortner, Elgar Howarth, Friedrich Cerha (Dirigenten)
ORF, 120 857 (Vinyl), 1984
ambitus, amb 68 802 (Vinyl), 1984
Deutsche Grammophon, 410 651-1 (Vinyl), 1983
Danish National Radio Symphony Orchestra;
Wergo, WER 60085 (Vinyl), 1980
Alfons und Aloys Kontarsky (Klavier)
Deutsche Grammophon, 2531 102 (Vinyl), 1980
Wergo, WER 60079 (Vinyl), 1978
Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra; Seiji Ozawa (Dirigent)
Varèse Sarabande, VX 81060 (Vinyl), 1978
SWR Symphonieorchester; Internationales Kammerensemble Darmstadt;
Bruno Maderna, Ernest Bour (Dirigenten)
Wergo, WER 60022, Vinyl, 1967; S 60 082 Spanien, 1978; Heliodor, 2549 003, Großbritannien
Vienna Wind Soloists
London Records, STS15419; Ace Of Diamonds, SDD 523 (Vinyl), 1977
Budapest Chamber Ensemble; András Mihály (Dirigent)
Hungaroton, SLPX 11807 (Vinyl), 1977
Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra; Elgar Howarth (Dirigent)
Wergo, WER 60 076 (Vinyl), 1976
Voces Intimae; Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra;
Sweden (Vinyl), 1976
Ensemble ‘die reihe’;
Friedrich Cerha (Dirigent)
Candide, CE 31009, Turnabout TV 34782, 1975
Christophorus Verlag, SCK 70 350 (Vinyl), 1974
Ensemble ‘die reihe’; SWR Orchester; Kammerorchester des Saarländischen Rundfunks; Bläserquintett des Südwestfunks Baden-Baden;
Friedrich Cerha , Ernest Bour, Antonio Janigro (Dirigenten)
Wergo, WER 60059, 1971 (Germany); Clave, 18-5010 S, 1974 (Spain)
ORF Choir; ORF Radio-Symphonieorchester Wien;
Gottfried Preinfalk, Friedrich Cerha (Dirigenten)
ORF, 0 120 064, Vinyl, 1973
Zsigmond Szathmáry (Orgel)
Da Camera Magna, SM 93237 (Vinyl), 1972
ORF Radio-Symphonieorchester Wien; Carl Melles (Dirigent)
ORF, ORF 1001 (Vinyl), 1971
LaSalle Quartet
Deutsche Grammophon, 2561 040; 2543 002, 1970
Schola Cantorum Stuttgart; Clytus Gottwald (Dirigent)
Wergo, WER 60026, 1960; Heliodor, 2549 013; Wergo, 2549 013 (Vinyl)
1970 (Großbritannien)
SWR Symphonieorchester; hr-Sinfonieorchester; Chöre des Bayerischen Rundfunks;
Ernest Bour, Wolfgang Schubert, Michael Gielen (Dirigent)
Wergo, WER 60045 (Vinyl), 1969 (Deutschland); WER 60045, 2549 011, 1970 (USA); Heliodor, 2549 011, Wergo, 2549 011, 1970 (Großbritannien); 70-5013 1976 (Spanien); 34 WER 60045, 1970 (Frankreich); Heliodor, 2549 011, Wergo WER 2549 011 (Kanada)
Orchestre National De Chambre De Toulouse; Louis Auriacombe (Dirigent)
La Voix De Son Maître, 2C 061 11316 (Vinyl), 1969
ORF Chor; ORF Radio-Symphonieorchester Wien; Milan Horvat (Dirigent)
Amadeo, AVRS 6456 St (Vinyl), 1969
Gerd Zacher (Orgel)
Deutsche Grammophon, 104 990; 137 003 (Vinyl), 1968
Internationales Kammerensemble Darmstadt; SWR Symphonieorchester;
Bruno Maderna, Ernest Bour (Dirigent)
Wergo, WER 60 022 (Vinyl), 1967
Caprice Records, CAP 1150 (Vinyl), unbekannt
Gruppo Corale Luzzasco Luzzaschi Di Ferrara; Giordano Tunioli (Dirigent)
Pro Civitate Christiana, PCC 0099 (Vinyl), unbekannt
Internationales Kammerensemble Darmstadt; hr-Chor; hrSinfonieorchester;
Bruno Maderna, Michael Gielen (Dirigenten)
Hör Zu Black Label, SHZW 904 BL (Vinyl), unbekannt
Kammerchor Hortus Musicus Feldkirch; Gerhard Dallinger (Dirigent)
Lade, EL CD 008, unbekannt