György Ligeti
Post-War · 1923–2006
György Ligeti was born in 1923 to a Hungarian Jewish family in Transylvania. He survived forced labor during the Second World War, in which most of his family were killed, then studied and taught in Budapest until Soviet tanks crushed the 1956 uprising, when he fled to the West with almost nothing.
In Cologne and later Vienna and Hamburg he found his own path: orchestral works built from dense clouds of sound, dozens of lines moving at once so the ear hears a single slowly shifting mass. Millions met that sound without knowing his name when Stanley Kubrick used his music in 2001: A Space Odyssey. Later works turned playful and intricate, drawing on African rhythm, jazz, and mechanical clocks.
Start with Lux aeterna, the unaccompanied choral piece from 2001, then Musica ricercata for the sharp, witty side of him.
56 works in the catalog, across 5 genres. Log what you listen to with Opus, the classical music journal for iPhone.
Chamber
- 2 Movements for String Quartet
- 6 Bagatelles, for wind quintet
- 10 Pieces for Wind Quintet
- Andante and Allegretto, for chamber ensemble
- Ballade and Dance, for 2 violins
- Chamber Concerto, for 13 instruments
- Die große Schildkröten: Fanfare vom Südchinesischen Meer, for trumpet
- Hyllning for Hilding Rosenbergs fodelsedag, for violin and cello
- Ramifications, for 12 strings
- Sonata for Solo Cello
- String Quartet no. 1, "Métamorphoses nocturnes"
- String Quartet no. 2
- Trio for Horn, Violin and Piano, "Hommage à Brahms"
- Viola Sonata
Keyboard
- Hungarian Rock
- Musica ricercata, 11 pieces
- 3 Bagatelles
- 3 Lakodalmi tánc, for piano-4 hands
- 3 Piece for 2 pianos: Monument, Selbstporträt and Bewegung
- 4 Early Pieces for piano, "Basso Ostinato"
- 6 Etudes, Book 1
- 8 Etudes, Book 2
- Allegro, for piano 4-hands
- Capriccio no. 1
- Capriccio no. 2
- Chromatische Phantasie
- Continuum
- Etude 14a, for player piano, "Coloana färä stârsit"
- Etudes, Book 3
- Induló, for piano 4-hands
- Invention
- Passacaglia Ungherese
- Polifón etüd, for piano 4-hands
- Ricercare: Omaggio a Frescobaldi
- Sonatina, for piano 4-hands
- Study no. 1: Harmonies
- Study no. 2: Coulée
- Volumina
Orchestral
- Cello Concerto
- Piano Concerto
- Violin Concerto
- Apparitions, for orchestra
- Atmosphères
- Double Concerto for Flute, Oboe, and Orchestra
- Lontano
- Melodien
- Romanian Concerto
- San Francisco Polyphony
Stage
- Le Grand Macabre Opera
Vocal
- Lux aeterna, for a cappella chorus
- Aventures, for 3 voices and 7 instruments
- Mysteries of the Macabre, for soprano and chamber ensemble
- Nonsense Madrigals, for 6 men's voices
- Nouvelles aventures, for 3 voices and 7 instruments
- Reggel, for chorus
- Requiem, for soprano, mezzo-soprano, 2 choruses and orchestra
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