PERFORMING LIGETI

Pierre-Laurent Aimard (Photo: Stiftung Klavier-Festival Ruhr)

Ligeti’s piano music: Performing suggestions and explanations

Those who study Ligeti's piano works discover a colourful musical cosmos, but at the same time are confronted with a variety of challenges. While parts of Musica ricercata can be mastered by young players, some of the highly virtuosic piano etudes confront even the most accomplished pianists with seemingly impossible tasks.

On the following page, Pierre-Laurent Aimard talks about his close collaboration with György Ligeti. Please go to the section “inside the score” to find his performing suggestions and explanations.

Ligeti & Aimard

Pierre-Laurent Aimard’s collaboration with György Ligeti began in the mid-1980s. In the interview, he talks about the various stages of that collaboration and offers background information on the composer’s performing suggestions, which he noted down at the time.

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Inside the score

Explore Ligeti’s piano music in interactive scores with Pierre-Laurent Aimard. The renowned Ligeti interpreter plays, teaches and explains selected piano etudes and pieces from the cycle Musica ricercata.

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Education projects

In the project “A Year with György Ligeti”, around 400 children, teenagers and young adults engaged with the music and ideas of the Hungarian composer. The films and texts that emerged from these education projects demonstrate how young people can be introduced to Ligeti’s multifaceted music.

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