Ligeti
Chaos and Order: György Ligeti’s Piano Étude No. 1 Désordre :
A look into the compositional aspects, influences and their relationship to comprehension.
Since the 19th Century, the piano etude has been a medium for composers, and subsequently pianists, to work out technically challenging ideas associated with playing the keyboard. Carl Czerny based his piano etudes explicitly on technical challenges – often in a simplistic way – creating exercises for pianist to work through particular issues. These etudes are simply exercise and never designed or considered worthy of performance on the public stage. It was not until the publication of Frederick Chopin’s Op. 10 Études, and later the Op. 25 set, that the etude became one worthy of performance in a public setting. Chopin’s Études are designed to work on specific pianistic challenges, but they are also composed in music forms that include musical thought and expression in their construction.
Following Chopin, there were others who furthered the genre. They include Claude Debussy, Alexander Scriabin, Sergei Rachmaninov, and more recently William Bolcom, Conlon Nancarrow1 and György Ligeti; the Hungarian of these being one of the most important composers of piano études during the late 20th Century. Ligeti published his first set of six Études pour piano in 1985, under the idea that he would complete two volumes each with six pieces. However, composing them interested him significantly, and between 1988 and 1994 he completed the second set of eight pieces. Following their completion, he began working on a third set which contains only four pieces.2 Each of the Études is a unique and individual work, and as a whole they represent an astonishing accomplishment of imagination and intellect.
Ligeti’s influences at the time of the composition of the Études can be divided into three categories; the Studies for Player Piano by Conlon Nancarrow, music of the Central African Republic, and contemporary
A look into the compositional aspects, influences and their relationship to comprehension.
Since the 19th Century, the piano etude has been a medium for composers, and subsequently pianists, to work out technically challenging ideas associated with playing the keyboard. Carl Czerny based his piano etudes explicitly on technical challenges – often in a simplistic way – creating exercises for pianist to work through particular issues. These etudes are simply exercise and never designed or considered worthy of performance on the public stage. It was not until the publication of Frederick Chopin’s Op. 10 Études, and later the Op. 25 set, that the etude became one worthy of performance in a public setting. Chopin’s Études are designed to work on specific pianistic challenges, but they are also composed in music forms that include musical thought and expression in their construction.
Following Chopin, there were others who furthered the genre. They include Claude Debussy, Alexander Scriabin, Sergei Rachmaninov, and more recently William Bolcom, Conlon Nancarrow1 and György Ligeti; the Hungarian of these being one of the most important composers of piano études during the late 20th Century. Ligeti published his first set of six Études pour piano in 1985, under the idea that he would complete two volumes each with six pieces. However, composing them interested him significantly, and between 1988 and 1994 he completed the second set of eight pieces. Following their completion, he began working on a third set which contains only four pieces.2 Each of the Études is a unique and individual work, and as a whole they represent an astonishing accomplishment of imagination and intellect.
Ligeti’s influences at the time of the composition of the Études can be divided into three categories; the Studies for Player Piano by Conlon Nancarrow, music of the Central African Republic, and contemporary
Bibliography: Townsend, Alexandra. “The Problem of Form in György Ligeti’s Automne a Varsovie, from Études pour piano, premier livre.” D.M.A Thesis, The University of British Columbia, 1997. Tsong, Mayron. “Analysis or Inspiration? A Study of György Ligeti’s Automne a Varsovie.” D.M.A. Thesis, Rice University, 2002. ____________. “Études pour piano, pemier livre of György Ligeti: Studies in Composition and Pianism.” Master of Music Thesis, Rice University, 2001. Rink, John. “Musical Structure and Performance, Book Review.” Music Analysis, Vol. 9, No. 3. (Oct., 1990), Pg. 319-339. Steinitz, Richard. “The Dynamics of Disorder.” The Musical Times, Vol. 137, No. 1839. (May, 1996), Pg. 7-14. _____________. “Music, Math & Chaos.” The Musical Times, Vol. 137, No. 1837. (Mar., 1996), Pg. 14-20. ______________. “Weeping and Wailing.” The Musical Times, Vol. 137, No. 1842. (Aug., 1996), Pg. 17-22. Other Sources Berry, Wallace. Musical structure and Performance. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1989. Rink, John Ed. Musical Performance: A Guide to Understanding. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2002. ___________. The Practice of Performance: Studies in Musical Interpretation. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1995. Samson, Jim Ed. The Cambridge Companion to Chopin. Great Britain: Cambridge University Press, 1992.