Listened to his violin concerto yesterday. A great piece, especially the Passacaglia and the final movement. Some parts sounded to me almost a bit like "classical world music ". I was reminded vaguely of some central Asian music. I read up on him later and found out he was influenced by microtonal music when he wrote the concerto, maybe that explains it. His music has great colour, drama and, unlike a lot of other contemporary composers, also appeals on an emotional level. I will definitely listen to more of his music in the future.

 

I've just started getting into Ligeti a few months ago. Don't miss the Chamber Concerto, or Atmosphères, or Ramifications. In fact, just get this disc

I've found it to be a great starting point. I'm still looking for a recording for the piano music, which seems fascinating.

 

I can't imagine 2001: A Space Odyssey without Ligeti. An inspired choice by Kubrick. Just last week I put on Le Grande Macabre - an acquired taste for sure, but what a wild piece. The orchestration is bewildering - who else (other than Spike Jones) would score it for 12 car horns?

 

Much love for everything that Ligeti wrote. Most important artist of the 20th c. imo. And you're right, he had distinct phases throught his career, one that extends from the late 50's/early 60's up to 77/8 with Le Grand Macabre, a period of relative silence, and then another phase from the horn trio to perhaps the end of his life, although yes, sippal, dobbal, nádihegedűvel could have marked the beginning of something new had he been able to still write throughout the last years of his life. I recommend a french documentary on YT about him, if you're interested, it shows that he wasn't only a very fine composer, but also a very interesting man.
He was a modern composer who rejected dogma and schools and had perhaps one the most open ears (in the sense of open to all sorts of musics) ever.

EDIT: Of course, there's early Ligeti before leaving Hungary. From the 40's he had some very nice and short piano pieces, but his most outstanding works from that period are the Musica Ricercata, the Cello Sonata and the first String Quartet

 

I want to understand these style changes better, what was motivating him. Is there anything good to read?

How did he get from Atmospheres to the viola sonata? It's as striking the development of Stockhausen, from Kontate to Klang

 

A lot of Ligeti sounds similar to me. The sound from the Requiem, has a similar feel to me as Clocks and Clouds, Lontano and probably others. He is hit and miss for me, most of his music isn't really my taste, but I think he was a skilled composer. I like the string quartets, continuum for harpsichord, the six bagatelles, which I think are all probably among his more conservative works.

 

A lot of Ligeti sounds similar to me. The sound from the Requiem, has a similar feel to me as Clocks and Clouds, Lontano and probably others.

I agree, but that's a conscious effort by Ligeti to perfect his, imo, unique style and really get the most out of it. Then he hit a dead end and changed completely from Le Grand Macabre onwards, in a way it's really as if he were two different composers, but there's always something in his music that is very Ligeti.

 

I love the cartoonish and whimsical late works the best. The piano concerto is the one i return the most.

 

It's not my favourite period of classical music but I appreciate it.

 

I like most of what I've heard from him except the Grand Macabre. I have The Ligeti Project and Ligeti Masterworks box sets, but my problem is, I don't get to listen to them much. My wife doesn't like this kind of music, so I usually only listen to him when she's out of the house. As they say, happy wife, happy wife.

 

No ....................

 

I really like the piano and violin concerti and the solo piano works, and “Atmospheres” is my personal boundary between the kind of music that I can tolerate and that which I can’t in terms of dissonance. I once tried to listen to the Requiem but it made me feel so disturbed I couldn’t finish it!

 

One of my favorites! I've got three box sets. I find his muture compositions unique and fascinating. And brilliantly constructed. His personal notes in the original Sony box and Teldec set are very informative.

 

Ligeti is one of the greatest composers of all time. His Violin Concerto, Etudes, Piano Concerto, Requiem, are among the top of human achievements.

Absolutely incredible.

I've also listened to Le Grand Macabre several times; couldn't make sense of the story but it was entertaining and innovative.

 

Ligeti is one of the greatest composers of all time. His Violin Concerto, Etudes, Piano Concerto, Requiem, are among the top of human.

I've also listened to Le Grand Macabre several times; couldn't make sense of the story but it was entertaining and innovative.

Are you sure you don't mean "Ligeti is one of the greatest composers of his time."?

 

Thanks to everyone for all these inspiring replies.

 

I'm behind on my reading about Ligeti, but I've downloaded a couple of books. The only author whose name I remember at the moments is Paul Griffiths. I've read his book "Modern Music and After" which is really good and it has a fair amount of Ligeti in it, but I don't remember anything that would thoroughly answer your question. He also wrote one specifically about him, so perhaps he goes more into detail there. However, I've seen and read quite a few very interesting interviews around the internet, in german and in english (also the documentary I mentioned has english subtitles and it's really good and will give you some answers I think), they're easy to find.

 

I learned Lux Aeterna and Atmospheres the way most people did -- by watching 2001 A Space Odyssey. I have owned the collection for years that included the versions played in the film; it includes the Chamber Concerto for 13 Instruments and two versions of Raminfications. I have also listened at length to the Brahms-inspired Horn Trio, the Requiem, Lontano and some other stuff.

Try as I might only Luex Aeterna and Atmospheres continue to register with me over time. I chalk that up to mean I liked the movie at lot more than Ligeti.

 

Count me as another big fan of Ligeti!

Don't ignore his string quartets.

Love his violin concerto.

One of my favorite pieces, Chamber Concerto for 13 instrumentalists seems to go underappreciated.

Ramifications, Atmospheres are also very good.

 

Ligeti wrote some very neat works for Woodwind 5tet:
6 Bagatelles (1953)
10 Pieces for 5tet (1968)
the former is very "Bartokian" (one mvt is a tribute to the master)
the latter is more into his explorations of chromtacism and 12 tone techniques, not so much in the Bartok mode...
good stuff- they work well for WW5tet...
I also like "Atmospheres"

 

Mandryka, I highly recommend Richard Steinitz's book called, simply, Gyorgy Ligeti. A really excellent and detailed account of his life and music.

I adore Ligeti's sound worlds, but find some of his vocal pieces simply annoying when they stray into Alice In Wonderland, Jarry, sort of places.

I couldn't live without his orchestral and chamber works though, and the solo piano pieces are remarkable.

 

This brief movement of Musica Ricercata played by Pierre-Laurent Aimard is one of the loveliest pieces of music I know.

 

He used that same theme in the 2nd movement of his Violin Concerto, albeit in a much more reverential atmosphere.

 

There is a very good YouTube channel by contemporary Canadian composer, Samuel Andreyev.

On one of his very informative videos, he does some in depth analysis of Chamber Concerto.

 

It's an interesting piece of music. Of all the concertos it's the cello concerto which I like the most.

 

While I haven't delved too deeply into Ligeti's music, I know that at least one of the aforementioned phases of his writing was strongly influenced by his study of Central African mbuti vocal polyphony, which is one of my favorite forms of 'traditional music'. There are plenty of recordings, and there's been plenty written about the connection, I'd recommend checking that out in order to contextualize Ligeti.

 

Thank you for pointing out that connection. I just listened to some mbuti singing I found on Spotify and then some of his piano etudes (great, by the way), the ones that were performed in a 2001 concert in Berlin with a group of Aka singers. All I can say is that the combination works but I would not have made the connection myself. Wish I had been in the Kammermusiksaal to hear Ligetis introduction to the concert.

 

This is the first performance of the cello concerto, with Siegfried Palm and Henryk Czys. Very good! Not to be confused with Palm's later recording with Leeuw.

 

I would say that Automne a Varsovie is both reminiscent of past music while being strangely alien to it. It's not a continuation of Ligeti's earlier avant garde style but seems to be a synthesis of earlier styles of music using his own established, idiosyncratic techniques. Ligeti's style was always evolving, and the reclaiming of the past, of harmony, melody, and finally form, is a process that began in the 1960s and continued into his later music. Ligeti was always preoccupied with maintaining his musical individuality. Or as he said, "By rejecting both the 'retro' and the former avant-garde, I declare for myself a modernism of today."

Listening to the Etudes this morning, very attractive music. This may be silly but the thought crossed my mind that they're rather like Rachmaninov's Etudes Tableaux.

Is that the destiny of Darmstadt people? Hopefully I'm forgetting the details of the Rach.

Added. After typing that I found this programme note from a series I unfortunately missed, p 12 is the relevant part. Maybe the Rach sound is limited to Bk 1.

https://www.barbican.org.uk/sites/default/files/documents/2019-11/Tamara Stefanovich for web .pdf

 

Thank you Mandryka for starting this thread. I never get around to listening to enough Ligeti - I really don't know why I don't stick with him a bit longer each time, I'm just in and out!

I've been to a fair few concerts with Ligeti works down the years and have all the usual recordings and box sets.

I bought the Finnish Radio Symphony/Hannu Lintu/Benjamin Scmid Ondine release a few years ago and I've been listening to it regularly, but little else by the great man. The Lontano on this disc is broad, but you don't realise it while listening. Love it!

 

Yes those pieces from around 1968 - Lontano, Atmosphères etc, are fabulous I think. I feel about Ligeti the same as I feel about Boulez, I'm strongly attracted to the earlier stuff, less so to the later.