György Ligeti’s Chamber Concerto in the Light of the Article “. . . how time passes . . .” by Karlheinz Stockhausen

This study examines Gyrgy Ligeti's Chamber Concerto for 13 instruments, written in 1969-70, in light of Karlheinz Stockhausen's 1957 article ". . .how time passes . . ." In this famous article, Stockhausen establishes relationships between the components of musical writing: durations, tempi, rhythms, pitches, and registers.He describes the solutions he imagines for composing time against the backdrop of integral serialism and the advent of electronic music.By comparing this article with Ligeti's score, one recognizes a realization of the concepts introduced by Stockhausen, such as "field-sizes," "duration-formants," use of proportions, and tempo/pitch "mediations."This study sheds light on Ligeti's choices regarding the establishment of metronomic and senza tempo strata, the serial treatment of tempi in the second movement, and the freedoms granted to the performers.This comparative approach puts into perspective existing analyses of the Chamber Concerto that focus primarily on the organization of pitches and the realization of textures.