Name: György Ligeti
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György Ligeti

The multifaceted exhibition Ligeti Labyrinth, which was conceived by the Budapest Institute of Musicology and the Paul Sacher Foundation, was presented at the Basel Historical Museum until April 2024.

The travelling exhibition, which has already been shown in Budapest, presents a wide variety of documents from Ligeti's estate: sketches and drafts, calligraphic fair copies, photos, audio and video material shed light on central aspects of his work. Diverse musical traditions appear in the exhibits as well as references to non-musical phenomena in the visual arts and to findings in the natural sciences.

Anna Dalos and Márton Kerékfy from the Budapest Institute of Musicology developed the exhibition together with Heidy Zimmermann, curator of the György Ligeti Collection at the Paul Sacher Foundation, to mark the 100th anniversary of the composer's birth. The Ligeti Labyrinth was on display at the Budapest Museum of Music History before its presentation at the Basel Historical Museum's Music Museum from 30 November 2023 to 7 April 2024.

The exhibition was accompanied by a concert programme, including chamber music performances as part of the Mizmorim Festival (27 January), with the Basel Chamber Orchestra (15 February), with the Basel Sinfonietta (7 April) and with the Basel Symphony Orchestra (10 April). The vernissage on 29 November 2023 was accompanied by music from Ensemble Diagonal.

A comprehensive catalogue of the exhibition has been published by Schott Music.

"A restless seeker with great independence and inventiveness"

In the summer of 2023, the Salzburg Festival demonstrated its close affinity with the music of György Ligeti through the concert series Time with Ligeti. Tabea Zimmermann and Pierre-Laurent Aimard, who played a key role in shaping the series, talked about their own relationship with the composer.

New publication

Composers with very different voices emerged from György Ligeti's composition class in Hamburg. For a joint book, many of them have compiled their memories of the teacher and of the musical issues that were negotiated in the class.

Birthday Music

On 28 May 2023, the 100th anniversary of György Ligeti's birth, the composer's music was heard in concert halls all over the world - in cities with which his life was closely linked, such as Budapest, Vienna, and Hamburg, as well as in faraway places like Tokyo and Mexico City.

Richly coloured, rhythmically concise, expressively significant

In addition to having recorded all of György Ligeti's works for choir a cappella, the SWR Vokalensemble is offering workshops on the composer's work as part of a major school project and is also touring his music in Germany, Hungary, the Czech Republic, France and Italy in May and June.

Vienna celebrates György Ligeti's music

The Wiener Konzerthaus dedicated an extensive concert series to its honorary member György Ligeti on the occasion of his 100th birthday in 2023.

A new work by György Ligeti?

In any case, an almost unheard new version of Macabre Collage was performed independently by the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, the London Symphony Orchestra and the Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI in February 2023.

Iridescent to unbridled: The Requiem

Hans Memling's Danzig altarpiece of the Last Judgement served György Ligeti as inspiration for the Dies irae from his Requiem, which became one of the most complex polyphonic works in music history. As a summary of his previous work and the nucleus of his new work, the Requiem plays a key role.