LIGETI György (1923-2006)

An Austrian composer born in 1923 at Dicsozentmardon (Romania) who died in 2006.

Of Hungarian origin, György Ligeti at first studied the piano while discovering music by listening to the radio. From 1941 to 1943 he studied composition, the organ and the cello at the Cluj Conservatory in Romania, then from 1945 to 1949, composition at the Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest with Ferenc Farkas, Sándor Veress, Pál Járdányi and Lajos Bárdos. He subsequently took inspiration from Bartok, Romanian folklore and Hungarian folksongs from Transylvania, notably composing Métamorphoses nocturnes (1953-1954). In 1956, he worked with Karlheinz Stockhausen at the electronic music studio of Cologne radio, where he met Pierre Boulez, Luciano Berio and Mauricio Kagel and composed his only electro-acoustic pieces, Glissandi (1957) and Artikulation (1958). He settled in Vienna in 1959 and acquired Austrian citizenship in 1967. Also a composition teacher, György Ligeti travelled extensively, from 1950 to 1974, in Europe and America (Stanford University and Tanglewood Music Center) while still composing. His style developed from micropolyphony (Atmosphères, 1961; Requiem, 1963) to complex polyrhythms (Non-sens madrigal, 1983), via a more experimental style (Le grand macabre, 1974), in a constant search for sound colour. His output is original and varied, ranging from pieces for piano or harpsichord (Continuum, 1968) to opera, from chamber music to orchestral works and unusual groupings (Symphonic poem for 100 metronomes). György Ligeti was awarded many prizes, including those of the cities of Kyoto, Berlin, Vienna, and, in France, the Grand Prix du Président de la République.