György Ligeti and Dadaism

Abstract

The article is devoted to substantiating the connections of G. Ligeti's creativity with Dadaism, one of the most radical trends of the early twentieth century. Ligeti became one of those who perceived his influence and embodied it in his work, and he was included in the tradition that goes from Dada through all the further stages of its development. The article examines four phenomena of dada in the composer's work: the tradition of sound poetry (Lautpoesie), noise as a material of musical art, silent music (tacet music) and collage. With the obvious resonance of Dada's ideas in Ligeti's work, it is hardly possible to categorize him unconditionally as a Dadaist, since, while remaining an adherent of “art pour l'art”, he does not identify, but separates art and life, sometimes parodying the very poetics of Dadaism.

Keywords

György Ligeti, Dadaism, absurdity, asemantic poetry, collage, reduction