This is Cool

A very clever YouTuber has videoed Rainer Wehinger's "listening score" to Ligeti's 1957 electronic piece Artikulation and syncronized it to the music. Wehinger's score is a work of abstract beauty; following it to the music opens up a new understanding of Ligeti's procedures. (I especially like how Wehinger gives a shaded background for reverberating tones but leaves the space behind the more clipped or spliced tones blank.) I owe a tip of the hat to Musicareaction for the link.

Kurtag on Ligeti

The composer Gyorgy Kurtag accepts a prize and eulogizes his namesake, Gyorgy Ligeti. The remarks are elliptical but still moving. Here was my favorite Ligeti quote, as cited by Kurtag:

"As different as the criteria for art and science are, they are similar in that those who work in them are driven by curiosity. The key thing in both areas is to investigate coherences still undiscovered by others, and to create structures that haven't existed until now."

(It turns out he was especially interested in science, especially during his final illness.) Usually comparisons between art and science are glib and banal, but I'm struck by this idea of "coherences," and "creating structures." It's an interesting glimpse into Ligeti's aesthetic.