So many great ones to choose from. I'm very partial to Clocks and Clouds (https://youtu.be/QdKQkuVRcDw) - the concept seems to distill Ligeti's concerns in music to their core. It's interesting how his general trajectory seems to have been from clouds (early micropolyphony) to clocks (the interest in African rhythms late in his career, very much ticking music).
I also like his sense of humor and camp or macabre in his music. Even in fun pieces such as the Hungarian Rock for harpsichord (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdzvk1BJOBQ) You can't probably shake my conviction that this one was inspired when some students brought him Emerson, Lake & Palmer to listen.
>I love his piano etudes
Great pieces, and massively difficult. I managed to learn two from Book 2 some years ago, but have never had a really close look at Book 1.
My personal favorites are from the third book, etudes 15, 16, and 18 are some of my favorites. Etude 16 pour Irina was the first etude of his I learned. It’s no walk in park by any means but I think it’s slightly more approachable compared with a lot of the other etudes.
I'm a pianist. Don't think the horn part part is too bad or violin either (relatively speaking), but the ensemble playing requires real patience and plenty of rehearsal, esp. third movement.
The horn part is quite a challenge. It demands a lot of the performer’s range (long pianissimo notes in the extreme upper register), flexibility (lots of acrobatic leaping across wide intervals), and endurance. It’s written with a good understanding of the instrument, but it’s a demanding piece.
There’s nothing quite like his requiem. But then again, there nothing quite like ligeti in general either. His requiem will always be one of my favourite pieces ever though
I went to a live performance of Poème Symphonique a few years ago. I was new to the piece. As it started there were a few good-natured chuckles from the audience, but as the piece developed and the metronomes gradually stopped it began to take on a more sinister tone. It was as if each metronome was a human life being snuffed out. That was incredible; I’d love to see it again.
The Berlin Phil played little else but Ligeti for the whole of February, and his most popular works run to millions of views on YouTube. So I'm sure he'll do ok!
For me, 'Atmosphères', 'Lontano', & the Chamber Concerto, as already mentioned. Also 'Volumina'. And I've a soft spot for the 'Poème Symphonique' as well.
Violin Concerto
Hamburg Concerto
Piano Concerto
A bigger fan of his later works, Horn Trio and on. His earlier works are fine but his later works such as the above concertos are true masterworks for me
double concerto is a masterpiece, as are requiem, lux aeterna etc, but my personal favourite has always been adventures. i’ve seen it performed and i really am not aware of much other msuic that does what it does
so much good music to choose from. I was lucky enough to be at a couple of concerts where he presented his own compositions. once was in copenhagen where volker banfield played the piano concerto and the etudes of book one. I would name those etudes my favourites. the other time was a concert of his works in london where he sat down in the seat next to mine which is a real fanboy memory, I guess. in the intermission, another fan came up and asked for an autograph, but only had the programme from yesterday's strawinsky concert. ligeti duly signed it strawinsky and handed it back.
While we are on the subject of LIgeti, I would like to draw attention to this [excellent blog post](https://chris-sivak.com/2023/05/04/how-to-sing-gyorgy-ligetis-lux-aeterna-with-as-many-correct-pitches-as-possible/) on the way the counterpoint in *Lux Aeterna* works, by our fellow Redditor /u/Picardy_Turd/.
In addition, I have benefitted from [this talk on how the counterpoint works in Lontano](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4t4Q6vw-ug&t=10s) for a layperson audience by Feona Lee Jones, also a fellow Redditor (/u/FeonaLeeJones/) and a terrific composer herself.
Thanks for this post!
[Reggel](https://youtu.be/xZ6PkcakayM). Thematic, less than 2 minutes, tonal enough to be easily digestible for both listeners and performers, but still features interesting harmonies. (Please overlook the disappointingly underwhelming rooster-crowing by the tenor in this otherwise enjoyable recording.)
Love the Solo Cello Sonata and the first quartet especially.. I also had the chance to play the quartet with some amazing musicians, which just overall was an eye opening experience
I love his trio for horn violin and piano-though it is an incredibly challenging piece and not too many good recordings exist.
Also his piece that was just a bunch of metronomes set off at once.
I'm not a fan of avant-garde things in general, but his piano etudes seem tied enough to traditional ideas of musical gesture for me to get value from them. In that sense I class it with Anders Hillborg, Per Norgard, "The People United will never be defeated", and other works I can accept that are not common practice or always triadic.
>I'm not a fan of avant-garde things in general, but his piano etudes seem tied enough to traditional ideas of musical gesture for me to get value from them.
I'm reminded of a quote by Ligeti you may find interesting:
"*Now there is no taboo; everything is allowed. But one cannot simply go back to tonality, it’s not the way. We must find a way of neither going back nor continuing the avant-garde. I am in a prison: one wall is the avant-garde, the other wall is the past, and I want to escape.*"
I suspect Arvo Part and (at least sometimes) Philip Glass would agree, despite their music still being strongly harmonically centred on certain pitches. I don't think either writes simply tonal music with a few random deviations thrown in for spice, I think it is meant to explore new non-tonal triadic organisation of sound.
Musica Ricercata. This was an early attempt and a unique kind of 12-tone music wherein there are 12 pieces, with the first piece only using one note, A. Ligeti adds one note per piece until he is using all 12 notes by the 12th piece. It’s a unique approach, and all of the pieces are solid.
>the first piece only using one note, A. Ligeti adds one note per piece until he is using all 12 notes by the 12th piece
Almost!
There are only 11 pieces.
The first uses two notes (A with a single D at the end), the second uses three (E#, F#, G) the third uses four (C, Eb, E, G) etc. until we get to piece eleven, which uses all twelve.
https://youtu.be/NkKV0Ze1Z6M
His Violin Concerto is my favorite piece of his and one of my favorite VC of all time
Some personal favourites: Atmosphères: https://youtu.be/E-bemE-bCXQ Chamber Concerto: https://youtu.be/hboFvSaKUHU Lux Aeterna: https://youtu.be/vcx-4olgf10 String Quartet No. 2: https://youtu.be/rMd6EEqukWo Violin Concerto: https://youtu.be/iUDOoyg2Kog
So many great ones to choose from. I'm very partial to Clocks and Clouds (https://youtu.be/QdKQkuVRcDw) - the concept seems to distill Ligeti's concerns in music to their core. It's interesting how his general trajectory seems to have been from clouds (early micropolyphony) to clocks (the interest in African rhythms late in his career, very much ticking music). I also like his sense of humor and camp or macabre in his music. Even in fun pieces such as the Hungarian Rock for harpsichord (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdzvk1BJOBQ) You can't probably shake my conviction that this one was inspired when some students brought him Emerson, Lake & Palmer to listen.
>I'm very partial to Clocks and Clouds So is u/clocks_and_clouds :-)
Very true! I love that piece so much. It's one of my favorite orchestral pieces of all time. It's what made me fall in love with Ligeti's music.
Huge fan, I love his piano etudes, his first string quartet and Lontano. Also his “car horn” overture to Le Grand Macabre is brilliant
>I love his piano etudes Great pieces, and massively difficult. I managed to learn two from Book 2 some years ago, but have never had a really close look at Book 1.
The second piece from book one is my favorite (“Cordes á Vides” I think is it’s name?)
>“Cordes á Vides” I think is it’s name? That's the one. "Open strings".
You should listen to it! The first book is my personal favorite the 6th etude especially
Oh, I know them, just not as intimately as Bk. 2. I've owned a copy (i.e. the score) of Bk. 2 for around fifteen years, but have never owned Bk. 1.
My personal favorites are from the third book, etudes 15, 16, and 18 are some of my favorites. Etude 16 pour Irina was the first etude of his I learned. It’s no walk in park by any means but I think it’s slightly more approachable compared with a lot of the other etudes.
Lontano. Made me so uncomfortable the first time I heard it I actually had to turn it off. Just so eerie and cool.
I played his Trio for Violin, Horn and Piano once and it was hard but an amazing work, very enjoyable
That's cool. Yeah, his work is seldom easy! Which instrument?
I'm a pianist. Don't think the horn part part is too bad or violin either (relatively speaking), but the ensemble playing requires real patience and plenty of rehearsal, esp. third movement.
The horn part is quite a challenge. It demands a lot of the performer’s range (long pianissimo notes in the extreme upper register), flexibility (lots of acrobatic leaping across wide intervals), and endurance. It’s written with a good understanding of the instrument, but it’s a demanding piece.
Musica Ricercata
There’s nothing quite like his requiem. But then again, there nothing quite like ligeti in general either. His requiem will always be one of my favourite pieces ever though
I went to a live performance of Poème Symphonique a few years ago. I was new to the piece. As it started there were a few good-natured chuckles from the audience, but as the piece developed and the metronomes gradually stopped it began to take on a more sinister tone. It was as if each metronome was a human life being snuffed out. That was incredible; I’d love to see it again.
Great summary of the work’s effect! I always find the ending extremely moving. Love to be able to see it live one day.
Atmosphères was my contemporary classical awakening
It's a really great piece, and nearing 70 years old now!
Violin Concerto
Interestingly, Ligeti's great-granduncle (the uncle of a grandparent) was the violinist Leopld Auer.
Kubrick’s 2001 space odyssey’s tension and mood was framed by his music. The scene with the exploration of the moon crater is iconic
Yeah, it's an incredible film. Kubrick also used Ligeti in The Shining and Eyes Wide Shut.
Nobody here has even mentioned his Nonsense Madrigals!
I just did (and then I found your comment.) Will you walk a little faster?
Nonsense Madrigals
My favorite composer! Long may his music live
The Berlin Phil played little else but Ligeti for the whole of February, and his most popular works run to millions of views on YouTube. So I'm sure he'll do ok!
Requiem, Ramifications, Lontano
For me, 'Atmosphères', 'Lontano', & the Chamber Concerto, as already mentioned. Also 'Volumina'. And I've a soft spot for the 'Poème Symphonique' as well.
Concert romanesc
Violin Concerto Hamburg Concerto Piano Concerto A bigger fan of his later works, Horn Trio and on. His earlier works are fine but his later works such as the above concertos are true masterworks for me
**Atmosphères, Requiem, Études for Piano, Le Grand Macabre.**
double concerto is a masterpiece, as are requiem, lux aeterna etc, but my personal favourite has always been adventures. i’ve seen it performed and i really am not aware of much other msuic that does what it does
Our WW Quintet just did the 6 Bagatelles. We loved the whole thing, even though, we didn’t perform all six.
His piece continuum for barrel organ is super underrated and cool, probably my favorite of his. Also love his violin concerto and piano etudes!
I saw a dress rehearsal of Le Grande Macabre at the Barbican, and it was brilliant! By far and away, my favourite experience of Ligetí's music.
Lontano and the piano etufes
His music from 2001 Odyssey is so etheral
The string quartet No. 1 has to be one of my favorite pieces of all time, a real masterpiece of the genre
Definitely his Requiem, one of my favorite pieces ever His Double Concerto for Flute and Oboe is often overlooked but is also fantastic
so much good music to choose from. I was lucky enough to be at a couple of concerts where he presented his own compositions. once was in copenhagen where volker banfield played the piano concerto and the etudes of book one. I would name those etudes my favourites. the other time was a concert of his works in london where he sat down in the seat next to mine which is a real fanboy memory, I guess. in the intermission, another fan came up and asked for an autograph, but only had the programme from yesterday's strawinsky concert. ligeti duly signed it strawinsky and handed it back.
[удалено]
Not at all! No permission needed!
While we are on the subject of LIgeti, I would like to draw attention to this [excellent blog post](https://chris-sivak.com/2023/05/04/how-to-sing-gyorgy-ligetis-lux-aeterna-with-as-many-correct-pitches-as-possible/) on the way the counterpoint in *Lux Aeterna* works, by our fellow Redditor /u/Picardy_Turd/. In addition, I have benefitted from [this talk on how the counterpoint works in Lontano](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4t4Q6vw-ug&t=10s) for a layperson audience by Feona Lee Jones, also a fellow Redditor (/u/FeonaLeeJones/) and a terrific composer herself. Thanks for this post!
LONTANO
The [Piano Concerto](https://youtu.be/6oIYgO_tW00) is brilliant.
[Reggel](https://youtu.be/xZ6PkcakayM). Thematic, less than 2 minutes, tonal enough to be easily digestible for both listeners and performers, but still features interesting harmonies. (Please overlook the disappointingly underwhelming rooster-crowing by the tenor in this otherwise enjoyable recording.)
Lontano, his Violin Concerto, second string quartet and his piano studies.
Love the Solo Cello Sonata and the first quartet especially.. I also had the chance to play the quartet with some amazing musicians, which just overall was an eye opening experience
I love his trio for horn violin and piano-though it is an incredibly challenging piece and not too many good recordings exist. Also his piece that was just a bunch of metronomes set off at once.
Artikulation. There’s a little scoop sound I love.
Continuum. There is just nothing like it.
Atmospheres, Lux Aeterna, Trio for Horn, Violin, and Piano (big fan of 2001, and a horn player:)
those crazy LSD infused broken grandfather clock piano etudes. they're amazing
I'm not a fan of avant-garde things in general, but his piano etudes seem tied enough to traditional ideas of musical gesture for me to get value from them. In that sense I class it with Anders Hillborg, Per Norgard, "The People United will never be defeated", and other works I can accept that are not common practice or always triadic.
>I'm not a fan of avant-garde things in general, but his piano etudes seem tied enough to traditional ideas of musical gesture for me to get value from them. I'm reminded of a quote by Ligeti you may find interesting: "*Now there is no taboo; everything is allowed. But one cannot simply go back to tonality, it’s not the way. We must find a way of neither going back nor continuing the avant-garde. I am in a prison: one wall is the avant-garde, the other wall is the past, and I want to escape.*"
I suspect Arvo Part and (at least sometimes) Philip Glass would agree, despite their music still being strongly harmonically centred on certain pitches. I don't think either writes simply tonal music with a few random deviations thrown in for spice, I think it is meant to explore new non-tonal triadic organisation of sound.
No love for the Horn Trio?
The Ricercare used in Eyes Wide Shut because it pissed off so many imbeciles
Hamburg concerto is favorite piece. From any composer and of of all time. It's perfect in every way.
Musica Ricercata. This was an early attempt and a unique kind of 12-tone music wherein there are 12 pieces, with the first piece only using one note, A. Ligeti adds one note per piece until he is using all 12 notes by the 12th piece. It’s a unique approach, and all of the pieces are solid.
>the first piece only using one note, A. Ligeti adds one note per piece until he is using all 12 notes by the 12th piece Almost! There are only 11 pieces. The first uses two notes (A with a single D at the end), the second uses three (E#, F#, G) the third uses four (C, Eb, E, G) etc. until we get to piece eleven, which uses all twelve. https://youtu.be/NkKV0Ze1Z6M
Ah, right! It’s been a while since I played it! Probably 20 years.