THE ELECTRONIC WORKS OF GYÖRGY LIGETI AND THEIR ...

were influential in the musical thinking and compositional techniques which were relevant
for these pieces. Therefore I believe that the work in the studio was particularly fruitful
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for my later work.” Ligeti mentions only two details, which I will discuss in depth in the
last chapter of this dissertation, the first being a rhythmic experiment conducted by
Gottfried Michael Koenig, and second, the division of the orchestra’s string section into
individual voices, and at no point does Ligeti discuss details of his own completed tape
pieces.
Another intriguing detail connecting the electronic and orchestral pieces was the
working title of Pièce électronique No. 3. This unfinished work was originally entitled
Atmosphères, but was renamed when the orchestral piece of 1961 took over that title.
While Ligeti has denied any direct connection between the two works, the shared title
suggests at the very least a shared aesthetic goal, and, moreover, as the last chapter will
reveal, shared compositional techniques.
Before the present study can truly propose answers to any of these questions of
influence, or even evaluate what Ligeti and his critics might have meant by “electronic
music ‘set’ for orchestra,” we must undertake a detailed study of these electronic works in
and of themselves. Thus, the second and third chapters of this dissertation will establish a
solid understanding of the finished electronic pieces, Glissandi and Artikulation, though
detailed analysis before the final chapter presents ways in which discoveries from these
analyses can inform discussion of the orchestral works. The remainder of this present
chapter focuses on the work already undertaken on these pieces and some of the
5Ligeti,
“Auswirkungen,” 74, 77.
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