The 2001 Laureates / Arts and Philosophy Category / Music
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György Ligeti

Austria / May 28, 1923-2006
Composer

"A composer with superb originality and firm commitment to innovation who continues to present new challenges"
Mr. Ligeti is a master of modern music who saw through the limitations of serialism, which was the mainstream avant-garde music after World War II. While building on the achievements of the serialists, he has established his own unique musical style that fascinates people with its rich sound and fullness of human feeling.

BRIEF BIOGRAPHY
1923
Born in the region of Transylvania (now Romania)
1941-1943
Studied musical composition at the Cluj Conservatoire
1949
Graduated, Budapest Academy of Music
1950-1956
Lecturer, the same academy
1956
Freed to Vienna following the Hungarian uprising
1957
Worked at West German Electronic Studios for electronic music in Cologne
1961-1971
Guest Professor, Stockholm Academy of Music
1967
Became a citizen of Austria
1972
Composer in residence, Stanford University
1973-present
Professor, The Hamburg University
Taught at centers around the globe

AWARDS AND HONORS
1964
Member, Royal Swedish Academy of Music
1968
Member, The West Berlin Academy of Arts
1972
Berliner Kunstpreis, Berlin
1975
Bach Prize awarded by the City of Hamburg
1984
Member, American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters
1984
Prix Ravel, Paris
1985
Prix Honegger, Paris
1987
Ehrenzeichen für Wissenschaft und Kunst of the Republic of Austria
1988
Order des Arts et des Lettres, France

MAJOR WORKS
1958-1959
Apparitions
1961
Atomospères
1963-1965
Requiem
1966
Aventures
1967
Lux aeterna
1967
Lontano
1974, 1977, 1996
Le Grand Macabre
1978
Hungarian Rock
1983
Hungarian Studies