György
Ligeti

By the time György Ligeti (b. 1923 in Diciosânmartin, Transylvania; d. 2006 in Vienna) became a fellow of the DAAD Artists-in-Berlin Program (BKP) in November 1969, he had long since established himself as a protagonist of post-serial aesthetics, having composed musical history with micropolyphonic orchestral pieces such as Atmospheres (1961). When he received the BKP invitation, Ligeti was working as an independent composer in Vienna and had regular teaching engagements as a guest lecturer in Stockholm. He had fled Hungary in 1956 and been granted Austrian citizenship in 1967.

Ligeti’s fellowship residency came during a period of aesthetic transition for the composer. In Berlin he wrote one of his central works, the Kammerkonzert for thirteen instrumentalists (1969–70), an intermediary between earlier and future compositional approaches. The concert is seemingly a synthesis of two previous works: Streichquartett Nr. 1 (1968) and Zehn Stücke für Bläserquintett (1968), in which the main movement structures in Ligeti’s music (static—fragmented—mechanical) are developed into movement structures comprising multiple contrasts. For the first time in Ligeti’s work, his compositional forms hint at classical-romantic movement structures based on allegro as the first movement, followed by adagio, scherzo, and finale. A complex polyphony of distinct, virtuoso-soloistic, individual instruments creates a concertante interplay of voices, whose temporal forms are organized using techniques of indeterminacy and displacement. In the second movement, the polyrhythmic layering of melodiously crafted instruments—inspired by Ligeti’s encounter with the music of Charles Ives—evinces collage-like features. For the first time, Ligeti constructs a sophisticated polytempo capable of yielding up to eight layered parallel speeds. The frenzied finale comes across as a grotesque exaggeration of instrumental virtuosity with its ludicrous tempo (as virtuosic as possible) and outbursts to be played like crazy. Amazingly, this piece, which was premiered by Friedrich Cerha’s die reihe ensemble for the Berliner Festwochen on October 1, 1970, was largely misunderstood by critics; today it is one of Ligeti’s most frequently performed compositions.

After the fellowship was over, Ligeti remained in Berlin for another two years and composed other significant works such as Melodien for orchestra (1971) and Doppelkonzert for flute, oboe, and orchestra (1972); the first drafts and planning sessions for his opera Le Grand Macabre also took place at this time. During his stay in Berlin, university offers came in from Cologne, Vienna, Berlin, and Hamburg; Ligeti chose Hamburg and became professor of composition at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in 1973. Various portrait concerts at the Akademie der Künste in Berlin (which he joined in 1968), however, continued to bring Ligeti to the city on a regular basis. Ligeti emphasized his lifelong affinity for Berlin during recollections in a 2003 interview with Eckhard Roelcke: “My home is actually Berlin. As strange as that may sound. […] The city has become quite interesting given the East–West accessibility. I am fascinated by Berlin and was when I lived in West Berlin as well.”

Text: Dirk Wieschollek

Translation: Erik Smith