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 Hungarian
composer György Ligeti was born in 1923. Living under
two dictators—Hitler and Stalin—Ligeti’s musical
approach was heavily influenced by the hardship and oppression that
he faced during those years of his life. After World War II, which
he spent at a labor camp, Ligeti studied and taught at the Budapest
Academy, quickly developing his distinctive “micropolyphoniality.”
This technique, as Ligeti described, “means such a dense tissue
that the individual parts become inaudible and only the resulting
intermingling harmonies are effective as a form.” Even in his
early works, such as Apparitions (1958–59) Ligeti’s distinctive
style can be detected.
After the crushing of Hungary’s anti-Soviet uprising in 1956,
Ligeti fled to Cologne, where he was exposed the advancements in
music and technology from which he had previously been cut off.
In Germany, he studied the music of Stockhausen, Kagel, and Boulez,
influences that can be seen in Artikulation (1958), a work that,
with Atmosphères (1961), granted him international renown.
In the decades following, he developed new polyrhythmic techniques
by incorporating African drumming patterns—patterns that were
integral for his Ètudes pour piano. Ligeti’s original
and unorthodox ideas, as well as his sense of humor, are present
throughout his works, which are characterized by radical turning
points, and the possession of exceptional musical quality and individuality.
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