Date of Award

Fall 2024

Document Type

Open Access Dissertation

Department

School of Music

First Advisor

Phillip Bush

Abstract

ABSTRACT Hungarian composer György Ligeti (1923–2006) is renowned as one of the most significant composers of the twentieth century. Musicians around the world have admired his innovative musical language. “Through the 1950s and 1960s, he went from composing in the style of his countryman Béla Bartók to working at the cutting edge of the Western European avant-garde.” His folk elements and avant-garde compositional techniques expanded through various genres, including orchestral, chamber, and keyboard compositions. This study's primary purpose is to explore Ligeti's piano work Musica Ricercata and ultimately provide a resource to other musicians that will assist in preparing and performing this work. This study provides a chronological history of Musica Ricercata, including its inspiration and influences. It explores Ligeti’s biography during the 1950s–1960s with background information about the political situation. The study then focuses on how Béla Bartók influenced Ligeti’s compositional journey and how Musica Ricercata influenced Ligeti’s later works. The research also focuses more specifically on the inspirations of each movement while examining its compositional traits. Following this, the study will provide detailed explorations of the major technical challenges presented in the work and provide ways to solve these challenges. It is the hope of the author that this study will enable players to learn the music efficiently and provide thoughtful advice to guide them from the initial learning process to the final performance. The study is divided into seven chapters. Chapter 1 covers the introduction, purpose, need, and limitations of the study. Chapter 2 focuses on Ligeti's biography and the compositional background of Musica Ricercata. Chapter 3 explores the influence of Bartok’s compositional style on Ligeti. Chapter 4 provides an analysis of Musica Ricercata with regard to technical difficulties as well as practice advice for each movement. Chapter 5 explores the influence of Ligeti’s Musica Ricercata on his later works in similar compositional style. Chapter 6 explains psychological preparation and strategy before performance. Chapter 7 serves as the conclusion of the entire study.

Rights

© 2025, Xiyao Wang

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