In the penprints of György Ligeti in Basle – Historical Aspects on Performance Notes in Piano Etudes 1–6

Abstrakti

The article is a discussion on tempo markings and performance notes in the first volume of the piano études by György Ligeti. It draws attention to certain differences between the manuscript, the preliminary facsimile editions and the final edition by Schott. It also highlights various post-publication corrections, comments and notes written by Ligeti on the sheet music in his possession. According to the sources, Ligeti changed his mind about the tempo several times and attached great importance to the nuances in the written performance notes. It remains open whether he had intended more corrections and comments to be published than are seen nowadays in the available editions. The information is based on unpublished material and archive sources at the Paul Sacher Foundation in Basle.