One of the most influential creators of the 20th century was György Ligeti (1923-2006). Born in Romania, the Hungarian composer’s works showcased a blend of avant-garde on one hand and folk music influence on the other. During his studies, he conducted ethnomusicological research into Hungarian folk music in Transylvania. He later taught at the Liszt Academy in Budapest. However, at that time in communist Hungary, an avant-garde approach was unfeasible. He discovered the avant-garde when he escaped to the West, initially to Vienna and primarily to Cologne. There, among other places, he worked at the Electronic Music Studio of West German Radio (WDR), alongside Karlheinz Stockhausen and Gottfried Michael Koenig. From 1973, he taught Composition at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Hanover.
All of the above, in even greater detail, can be found by the reader on several websites, here’s an example (https://en.gyorgy-ligeti.com/). Besides, the purpose of these texts is not to present a composer or a detailed biography. We would need several paragraphs just for the awards he received in his career…
Ligeti became famous among the wider art-loving public through his works used in cinema, primarily by Stanley Kubrick in three of his films. The chronologically earliest, 2001: A Space Odyssey, includes excerpts from three of the composer’s works: Atmosphères (1961) for orchestra, Requiem (1963-65) for soloists, choir, and orchestra, Lux aeterna (1966) for choir. The director also used an electronically altered version of the work Aventures (1962) for three voices and instrumental ensemble. A few years later, in the film The Shining, excerpts from Lontano (1967) for orchestra are heard. A common characteristic of these compositions is the so-called “micropolyphony”*, a term coined by the composer himself, where the emphasis is not on melody or rhythm, but on timbre. Finally, in the director’s swan song, Eyes Wide Shut, the second movement of the work Musica Ricercata (1953) for piano became famous.
So, 32 years after Musica Ricercata, we arrive at his next work for piano, and arguably the most influential piano work of the second half of the 20th century: his Études. Cataloged in three volumes, they were written over a period of 16 years, from 1985 to 2001. The first volume – initially published by Schott in manuscript (!) form – includes the first six: Désordre, Cordes à vide, Touches bloquées, Fanfares, Arc-en-ciel, Automne à Varsovie. The second volume includes eight pieces: Galamb borong, Fém, Vertige, Der Zauberlehrling, En suspens, Entrelacs, L’escalier du diable, Coloana infinită. The third and lesser-known volume contains the last four études: White on White, Pour Irina, À bout de souffle, Canon.
Piano études were once pieces for practice, strengthening hands/fingers, simple practical exercises. This changed primarily with Chopin, who made them musical works worthy of note, remembrance, and concert performance. Many subsequently wrote significant collections of études, but in the 20th century, this genre seemed to be outdated. On the other hand, important composers wrote études both in the early 20th century and later without gaining much traction, with the possible exception of Sergei Rachmaninoff (Études-tableaux op. 33 and op. 39): they offered nothing new at the pianistic level. Even Alexander Scriabin’s études, spanning three consecutive decades, largely remained romantic.
In the first category, Claude Debussy (12 Études in two volumes -1915), Béla Bartók (Three Études op. 18 -1918), and Igor Stravinsky (Four Études op. 7 -1908) hold a special place as innovators of piano technique. From around the middle of the century onwards, piano études have been composed by Nikos Skalkottas (1941)[http://users .uoa.gr/~foulias/txtf/Skalkottas_etudes.htm], the great Olivier Messiaen (Four Études of Rhythm), the pioneer John Cage (Etudes Australes and Etudes Boreales), Einojuhani Rautavaara (1969), and William Bolcom. The latter, in fact, wrote two collections, the second of which (12 New Études for Piano) received the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 1988. Finally, it is worth mentioning here Giannis Konstantinidis’s Six Études on Greek Folk Rhythms [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unH8Tyo_QNM] (1958) and Giorgos Sicilianos’s Études of Composition op. 32 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgoulreZd8A] (1974).
Ligeti, therefore, seems to have breathed new life into the genre, as his études quickly spread throughout the piano world. Even established – and older – pianists engaged with his études in one way or another. Generally, these are pieces of increased complexity, involving new pianistic difficulties. In many cases, they challenge the pianist to unlearn what they knew and to start – like a child – from scratch. The coordination of the two hands sometimes requires weeks or even months of study, as the square meter of previous eras is absent. The pulse is fluid, and the absence of repetitive rhythmic motifs is not particularly helpful. Often, the listener hears almost similar motifs, but with small differences between them. The influence of his study of African polyrhythms takes his “micropolyphony” to new levels. The composer famously claimed that this rhythmic complexity stems from two very different sources of inspiration: the romantic piano music of Chopin and Schumann and the music of sub-Saharan Africa. Even slow, seemingly simple études require a careful approach due to their complex accentuations and rhythms. I even dare to say that sometimes the études push the instrument to its limits: for example, the extreme dynamics, which can reach 8 forte or 8 piano (ffffffff – pppppppp!), or the extremely fast tempi in repetitive key playing where the hammer and/or key return to the piano slower than the pianist’s hand – especially on poorly maintained instruments.
Ligeti’s insistence on almost inhumanly fast tempo indications poses an obstacle for anyone wishing to study these études. Of course, not all are equally difficult, nor do they require the same amount of work. Among the – always relatively – simpler ones are, for example, Nos. 2, 5, 8, 11, 16. The most demanding are considered to be Nos. 1, 7, 9, 13, 14. The most well-known are the 4th étude (Fanfares), probably the most frequently performed contemporary piano work, the 6th (Automne à Varsovie), and the 10th (Der Zauberlehrling). Unfortunately, the études of the third volume remain relatively unknown, even among pianists.
I recommend the following recordings for listening. For something more human, there are Idil Biret (étude 12), Volker Banfield (étude 5), and Fredrik Ullén (étude 14).
Among the most otherworldly interpretations are those by Dimitris Vassilakis (études 1, 4, 11, 17, 18) and Pierre-Laurent Aimard.
I also present an amazing and imaginative set by George Konstantinou with four études and some Kurtág Játékok [Games] interspersed from a 2008 concert, and the 13th from my own live recording from 2002.
After Ligeti, many composers wrote collections of études of small, great, or even transcendental difficulty. These include Hans Abrahamsen, Unsuk Chin, Pascal Dusapin, Thierry Escaich, Ivan Fedele, Philip Glass, Toshio Hosokawa, Nikolai Kapustin, Bruno Mantovani, Vassos Nicolaou, Karen Tanaka, Kevin Volans… It is possible that I am still missing some.
* Micropolyphony, as understood by Ligeti, is a type of polyphonic texture where dense canons move at different tempi. In the composer’s words: “…you cannot really hear the polyphony, the canon. You hear a kind of impenetrable texture, something like a very densely woven spiderweb. … The polyphonic structure is not obvious, you cannot hear it; it remains hidden in a microscopic underwater world, invisible to us.”
