THE ELECTRONIC WORKS OF GYÖRGY LIGETI AND THEIR ...

sectional, this work is also organic in that many of the details, despite Ligeti’s criticism,
are clearly designed with the shape of the whole in mind. Furthermore the simplicity of
the quasi-serial structure belies the conceptual complexity of the second half which
combines the original form with its retrograde. Many of the details which recur in this
second half must be reinterpreted in their new context as the filtering out of material
dramatically alters the resulting texture.
Ligeti’s description of the form of Glissandi suggests a piece with two distinct
parts, and the following analysis will treat it as such, initially presenting the subsections
that lead up to the midpoint, and then discussing their recombination in both prime and
retrograde forms in the second half. The two part conception of form which Ligeti
identifies in terms of large scale serial techniques is also applicable to studio technique, the
first being a study in additive synthesis, using all types of generators available in the
studio, the second half being a study in subtractive synthesis, using all types of filters to
remove sounds from the texture.
About the Equipment
Since Glissandi has been described as a “finger-exercise” created as Ligeti learned
to use the studio equipment, and since the two-part form of the piece can also be
described in terms of studio techniques, it will be useful to take a moment to become
familiar with the tools available for sound synthesis in the Cologne studio. In many of
Ligeti’s sketches, the source of the sound being used is also a way of classifying and
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