Ligeti’s Distant Resonances with Spectralism

Abstract

Abstract This chapter examines the relationships between György Ligeti and spectralism, both in terms of a similar repertoire of compositional techniques (including the use of interpolations, difference tones, and instrumental synthesis) and in terms of a more general aesthetic outlook or attitude. Many spectralists, including Gérard Grisey, Tristan Murail, Horaţiu Rădulescu, Kaija Saariaho, and Claude Vivier, have acknowledged varying degrees of influence from or respect for Ligeti, but also take care to differentiate their own works from his precedent. Conversely, in his later career, Ligeti found ways of expressing both admiration for and independence from spectralism. A comparative examination of these composers’ prose writings and musical compositions reveals some connections that are deeper, and others which are more superficial. Moreover, looking at these composers’ statements in their historical context can illuminate the political, artistic, and pragmatic reasons for their rhetorical positions. In the end, the ways in which both Ligeti and the spectral composers responded to ideas of “distance”—in the acoustic imitation of echoes and reverberations, but also the experience of geographical, cultural, and emotional distances common to their historical moment—form their most enduring connections.

Cite this work

No public copy is stored for this record, so only the metadata is cited.

Stored only when both papers are in the corpus — 2 citations exist upstream.

Papers that cite the same references — the relational fallback while embeddings are still backfilling.