THE ELECTRONIC WORKS OF GYÖRGY LIGETI AND THEIR ...

filters out material which was more directionally distinct to emphasize the intersections of
strands of sine tones and create other nearly-symmetrical gestures.
These symmetries enrich the network of connections in the latter part of the piece,
as some individual gestures can be heard quite literally as a repetition or as the retrograde
of a retrograde, other literal retrogrades will be heard as repetitions, and thus, these
invariant gestures contribute to a sense of direction has a significant role in interpreting the
form of the piece. On the largest scale, the piece itself is one such structure, and this is
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most clearly evident in the central span of Sections F and Section F . This arching form is
highly directional and, as such, particularly coherent, and thus lends itself to interpretation
as a unified section with contrasting material on either side. This conception of the form is
reinforced by a number of features in both the first and second halves. The first two
periods of accretion (Sections A and B) are easily taken together as a kind of
exposition–first showing an increase in registral span, then an increase in density and
diversity of material. This exposition is then followed by the softer C and D Sections,
which work as a transitional area to the third period of accretion, culminating in Section F.
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Section F reverses this accretion, quite clearly directed downward in register. Moreover,
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it is also followed by a transitional area, Sections E and the span of Sections D and D ,
which begin to lose this sense of direction. While the anomalies reinforce the shape of F ,
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the invariant gestures which follow pervade the rest of the material until the final seconds
of the piece, and thus unify this final segment of the piece.
While Glissandi shows many traditional influences, it is also an important work
establishing elements of Ligeti’s later style. It is true that Glissandi includes references to
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