20th century and todayGyörgy Ligeti
György Ligeti was born in Transylvania, in Romania.
György Ligeti’s life
The big moments of this life, and what was happening in the world at the same time.
A life at a glance
- 1923👶 Birth
Born on 28 May in Transylvania into a Hungarian-Jewish family
- 1941📚 Trainingage 18
Studies at the Kolozsvár (Cluj) conservatory
- 1944🏛️ Landmarkage 21
Sent to forced labour; his father and brother die in the camps
- 1948🌍 Meanwhile
The long-playing record (LP) goes on sale
- 1953🎼 Workage 30
Musica ricercata, for piano
- 1956🧳 Journeyage 33
Flees Hungary after the crushing of the revolution
- 1957🎩 Careerage 34
Works at the Cologne electronic studio
- 1961🎼 Workage 38
Atmosphères: music becomes a cloud of sound
- 1961🌍 Meanwhile
Yuri Gagarin, first human in space
- 1962🎼 Workage 39
Symphonic Poem for 100 Metronomes
- 1964🌍 Meanwhile
Robert Moog presents his synthesizer
- 1982🌍 Meanwhile
The compact disc (CD) is launched
- 2006🕯️ Deathage 83
Dies in Vienna on 12 June
Listen to the music
Press the big button to listen. Close your eyes: how does it make you feel?
György Ligeti’s music is still recent: it belongs to its creators and their families. Ask a grown-up to play it for you on the radio or at a concert!
Once upon a time…
György Ligeti was born in Transylvania, in Romania. As a child he dreamed of being a scientist and loved mathematics and nature. During the war he lived through terrible times and lost much of his family.
In Hungary the government banned modern music. So Ligeti composed in secret. In 1956 he escaped on foot to Austria to be free to create.
He invented incredible music, like clouds of sound moving slowly. He even wrote a piece for a hundred metronomes, each ticking at its own speed! His music was used in a famous space film, 2001.
In one of his piano works the first piece uses only two notes.
György Ligeti’s instruments
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