Claudio - Biography

Some words about György Ligeti's life and art



I decided to write these words about György Ligeti's life and art because I like his music very much. I'm such a lover of Ligeti's music that I decided to do a master and a doctorate about his language and probably I'll continue that sort of research in the future.

The Hungarian György Ligeti was, along with important figures like the German Karlheinz Stockhausen and the French Pierre Boulez, one of the most important composers in the European avant-garde that began to emerge in the 60's. Despite his art has been well appreciated in classical music circles, the general public is yet to know his works.

Ligeti was born in 1923 in a Hungarian Jewish family in Transylvania. Since he was a child he studied music and read a lot of literature. Although he didn't listen to modern music when he was a kid, he already used to create new sounds and harmonies in an old piano, which he had in his house.

While he lived in Hungary, he was influenced by the Bartók's style. At that time, his works were very close to the musical language of Béla Bartók and the folk songs of his country. He studied in effect many folk pieces, made transcriptions, and used those materials in his earliest works that have, unfortunately, remained unpublished.

Certainly, his most notable piece was Atmosphères from 1960 and it led him to be famous. He wrote that work as soon as he moved to Austria. After that success, he received numerous awards and distinctions.

Much of Ligeti's work was written using chromatic clusters chords. However, his later music showed an interest in African songs. His language became more consonant and easier to the general public. During the last period of his life he composed almost piano pieces in a new style, very different than the previous one.

He lived until his death in Vienna, the city where he had been wishing so much to live when he inhabited his place of birth.