György Ligeti
Born: 28th May 1923, Tarnaveni, Romania
Died: 12th June 2006, Vienna, Austria
Nationality: Hungarian, Austrian
György Sándor Ligeti was a Romanian-born Hungarian-Austrian composer of contemporary classical music. He has been described as "one of the most important avant-garde composers in the latter half of the twentieth century" and "one of the most innovative and influential among progressive figures of his time".
Born in Romania, he lived in the Hungarian People's Republic before emigrating to Austria in 1956. He became an Austrian citizen in 1968. In 1973 he became professor of composition at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg, where he worked until retiring in 1989.
Read more at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/György_Ligeti
Browse: Ligeti
Further Reading: Ligeti
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Bruce Liu on Lunaris
20th Aug 2026
The Canadian pianist discusses his new album Lunaris, a recent Presto Recording of the Week, and the unique path he has been carving since winning the Chopin competition in 2021.
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Variation[s] 3 from Cédric Tiberghien
19th Jun 2026
Cédric Tiberghien's new album brings his Variation[s] series to a close with creative programming and playing of sensitive probity, including striking Ligeti and a cohesive and stimulating account of the Diabelli Variations.
Popular Genres: Ligeti
Chamber
Instrumental
Opera
Choral
Concertos
Popular Works: Ligeti
- Atmosphères (20)
- Cello Concerto (17)
- Chamber Concerto for 13 instruments (17)
- Continuum für Cembalo (16)
- Double Concerto for Flute and Oboe (12)
- Étude No. 1 'Désordre' (34)
- Étude No. 2 'Cordes à vide' (37)
- Étude No. 3 'Touches bloquées' (33)
- Étude No. 4 'Fanfares' (42)
- Étude No. 5 'Arc-en-ciel' (32)
- Étude No. 6 'Automne à Varsovie' (32)
- Étude No. 7 'Galamb Borong' (31)
- Étude No. 8 'Fèm' (32)
- Étude No. 9 'Vertige' (32)
- Étude No. 10 'Der Zauberlehrling' (35)
- Étude No. 11 'En suspens' (31)
- Étude No. 12 'Entrelacs' (30)
- Étude No. 13 'L'escalier du diable' (36)
- Étude No. 14 'Coloana Infinita' (28)
- Étude No. 15 'White on White' (18)
- Étude No. 16 'Pour Irina' (16)
- Étude No. 17 'À Bout de Souffle' (14)
- Étude No. 18 'Canon' (14)
- Études for piano, book 1 (études 1-6) (28)
- Études for piano, book 2 (études 7-14) (26)
- Études for piano, book 3 (études 15-18) (12)
- Lux aeterna (30)
- Melodien for orchestra (16)
- Musica Ricercata for piano (22)
- Mysteries of the Macabre (13)
- Pieces (3) for two pianos (17)
- Six Bagatelles for wind quintet (34)
- Sonata for Cello solo (60)
- Sonata for Viola Solo (19)
- String Quartet No. 1 'Métamorphoses nocturnes' (26)
- String Quartet No. 2 (25)
- Ten Pieces for Wind Quintet (15)
- Trio for Violin, Horn and Piano (19)
- Violin Concerto (17)
- Volumina (17)
Recent Best Sellers: Ligeti
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Lunaris
Bruce Liu (piano)
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Presto Recording of the Week, 7th August 2026
CD: $16.25Download from $10.75 -
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Special offer. Ligeti: Violin Concerto - Concert Românesc - Piano Concerto
Isabelle Faust (violin), Martial Gauthier, Carole Roth, Robin Michael (cello), Jean-Frédéric Neuburger (piano), Les Siècles, François-Xavier Roth
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Gramophone Magazine, August 2025, Editor's Choice
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Gramophone Awards, 2026 Winner, Concerto
CD: Original price $21.00 Reduced $16.80Download from $12.75 -
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Special offer. Plaisirs illuminés | Veress - Ginastera - Coll
Camerata Bern (chamber ensemble), Patricia Kopatchinskaja (violin), Thomas Kaufmann, Marko Milenkovic, Sonja Starke, Suyeon Kang, Sol Gabetta (cello), Käthi Steuri
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Gramophone Magazine, January 2021, Editor's Choice
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BBC Music Magazine, March 2021, Concerto Choice
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Gramophone Awards, 2021, Shortlisted - Contemporary
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International Classical Music Awards, 2022, Nominated - Assorted Programs
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BBC Music Magazine Awards, 2022, Winner - Concerto
CD: Original price $20.25 Reduced $14.17Download from $6.50 -
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Special offer. The Vienna Recital
Yuja Wang (piano)
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Gramophone Magazine, June 2024, Editor's Choice
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BBC Music Magazine, August 2024, Insturmental Choice
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Presto Recordings of the Year, Finalist 2024
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International Classical Music Awards, 2025, Nominated - Solo Instrument
CD: Original price $17.50 Reduced $15.75Download from $10.75 -
New Releases: Ligeti
View all new releases-
New. Gramophone Awards 2026 Sampler
Flore Van Meerssche, Isabelle Faust (violin), Gabriele Lombardi, Monica Piccinini, Maria Chiara Gallo, Andrés Montilla, Raffaele Giordani, Jean Rondeau (harpsichord), Fleur Barron (mezzo-soprano), Axelle Fanyo (soprano), Nicholas Phan (tenor), Bertrand Chamayou (piano), Leif Ove Andsnes (piano), Adèle Charvet (mezzo-soprano), Florian Caroubi, Ann Hallenberg (mezzo-soprano), Alexander Melnikov (piano), Imogen Cooper (piano), Lea Desandre (soprano), Alex Rosen (bass-baritone), Jess Dandy (contralto), Laurence Kilsby (tenor), Thomas Dunford (lute), Alexander Malofeev (piano), Pavel Haas Quartet, Capella Sollertia, Les Siècles, Concerto Italiano, San Francisco Symphony Chorus, San Francisco Symphony, BBC Symphony Orchestra, The Mozartists, Jupiter, Johanna Soller, François-Xavier Roth, Rinaldo Alessandrini, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Sakari Oramo, Ian Page
Download from $0.00 -
New. Queen Elisabeth Competition: Cello 2026
Ettore Pagano, Tae-Yeon Kim, Álvaro Lozano Cames, Leland Ko, Clara Dietlin, Antoine de Grolée, Maria Zaitseva, Maria Zaitseva Sr, Krzysztof Michalski, Sarah Zajtmann, Adria Ye, Lionel Martin, Dilshod Narzillaev, Andrew Ilhoon Byun, Ivan Sendetsky, Thomas Hoppe, Yo Kitamura, Belgian National Orchestra, Orchestre Royal de Chambre de Wallonie, Antony Hermus, Vahan Mardirossian
4 CDs: $50.00Download from $20.50
Future Releases: Ligeti
View all future releases-
Coming soon. Core
Nemanja Stankovic (cello)
Download from $14.50 -
Coming soon. Arches
Sam Jones (double bass), Steven Beck (piano), Sae Hashimoto
Download from $10.00 -
Coming soon. Quasi Una Fantasia
David Kaplan (piano)
CD: $17.25 -
Coming soon. Continuum XXI - Music of Extremes
Ziggy Docherty Sanchez (speaker), Ferdinand Vicončaij (speaker), Sandra Lanuza (sound design), Vasily Ratmansky (sound design), Darío Tamayo, Continuum XXI
CD: $18.75Download from $10.00
