Dimensions
156 x 220 x 20mm
The Hungarian Gyorgy Ligeti (b. 1923) is one of the most respected of all living composers.
At the head of the avant garde from the early 1960s, he has remained at the forefront of musical change and innovation. During this time he has resisted being too closely identified with any single school or movement. His music initially caused a sensation with its dense textural waves of sound, which he calls micropolyphony; but in fact it has drawn on a diverse range of artistic sources: from the folk music of his native Hungary to the electronic music of Stockhausen, from the Fluxus "anti-art" movement of the 1960s to African and South American World music. The scandalized reception of works such as the "Poeme symphonique" for 100 metronomes earned the composer an unwanted notoriety, while the use of his music in Stanley Kubrick's films "2001: A Space Odyssey" and "The Shining" has ensured that his music has reached a wider audience.
Richard Toop's stimulating narrative traces the composer's life beginning with his survival as a Jew during World War II, his flight to West Germany during the 1956 Hungarian Revolution and his subsequent work in the Cologne electronic studios. Ligeti's role as a teacher and mentor is given full consideration. To many of the composers who came to prominence during the 1960s and 70s, Ligeti's music has been a lasting inspiration.
