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The early influence of his studies of local folk music and that of his countryman, composer Bela Bartok, may be felt in lively, accessible early piano pieces such as Harom lakodalmi tanc (Three Wedding Dances) and Sonatina (1950). Under a repressive communist regime, radio broadcasts were one of his few connections to a world bursting with postwar creative development.

Ligeti’s technique of ‘micropolyphony’, a dense interweaving of shifting harmonies, reached full flowering only after fleeing his native Hungary during the 1956 revolution and settling in Vienna. Examples of these clouds or clusters of sound may be heard in Atmospheres (1961) and Requiem (1965), both featured on the 2001 soundtrack.

A growing interest in patterns and rhythm yielded pieces such as Continuum (1968) and Chamber Concerto for 13 Instrumentalists (1969-70) and placed him in the company of a younger generation of composers such as Steve Reich and Terry Riley exploring minimalist techniques rooted in non-Western musical traditions.

Ligeti’s restless creativity and unique musical voice will be sorely missed, but his large body of work is left for generations to discover.

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Composer Gyorgy Ligeti dead at 83
Wikipedia entry
Sony Classical entry

Listen

Wergo label
Gyorgy Ligeti Edition, Sony Classical
2001: A Space Odyssey Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
The Shining Original Soundtrack (the first sentence says it all)
Eyes Wide Shut: Music from the Motion Picture