THE ELECTRONIC WORKS OF GYÖRGY LIGETI AND THEIR ...

center, and also prepares the more dramatic filtering of material after the midpoint of the
piece.
Section F introduces a mixture of materials similar to Section B, yet there are
many differences in the ways these two sections unfold. In Section B, the individual
events were short, and the feeling of a continuous stratified texture was built up through
the increasing rate of repetition, as the roman numerals cycled together more and more
quickly; in Section F, however, (and especially F1-F4) once a material is introduced, it
usually continues throughout, materials are often available in all registers, and all materials
are introduced in a unified build up from low to high. This pertains through the end of
Event 4; the pause in Event 5, highlights the registral extremes–low noises and high sine
tones–before Event 6, a recombination of tones and noise, but one from which any of the
previous materials has the potential to emerge.
Second Half
Ligeti’s schematic plan describes the second half of the piece as having doubled
material, but also calls for the filtering of this material–a process so prevalent that often
the second half is sparser than the original. The resulting texture has twice the potential
material available, but one only hears small snippets present in the surface of the
music–often just enough to be recognizable. As these recognizable excerpts engage the
listener’s memory and imagination, the filtering greatly effects one’s perception of the
form of the piece. Although all the material heard from here to the end is a literal
restatement or transformation of previous material, a listener’s expectations, based on how
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