''Ramifications'' is a composition for strings by Hungarian composer

György Ligeti György Sándor Ligeti (; ; 28 May 1923 – 12 June 2006) was a 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" ...

. It was finished in 1968 and premiered in 1969.

Composition and premiere

The composition is dedicated to

Serge Koussevitzky Sergei Alexandrovich KoussevitzkyKoussevitzky's original Russian forename is usually transliterated into English as either "Sergei" or "Sergey"; however, he himself adopted the French spelling "Serge", using it in his signature. (SeThe Koussevit ...

and his wife, Natalia Koussevitzky and is meant to be a gift for the

Koussevitzky Music Foundation Sergei Alexandrovich KoussevitzkyKoussevitzky's original Russian forename is usually transliterated into English as either "Sergei" or "Sergey"; however, he himself adopted the French spelling " Serge", using it in his signature. (SeThe Koussevi ...

in the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

. The first version, for

string orchestra A string orchestra is an orchestra consisting solely of a string section made up of the bowed strings used in Western Classical music. The instruments of such an orchestra are most often the following: the violin, which is divided into first ...

, was premiered in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

on April 23, 1969.

Michael Gielen Michael Andreas Gielen (20 July 19278 March 2019) was an Austrian conductor and composer known for promoting contemporary music in opera and concert. Principally active in Europe, his performances are characterized by precision and vivacity, aid ...

conducted the Radio-Sinfonie-Orchester Berlin on this occasion. The version for 12 soloists was premiered a few months later, on October 10, 1969, in

Saarbrücken Saarbrücken (; french: link=no, Sarrebruck ; Rhine Franconian: ''Saarbrigge'' ; lb, Saarbrécken ; lat, Saravipons, lit=The Bridge(s) across the Saar river) is the capital and largest city of the state of Saarland, Germany. Saarbrücken is S ...

, with the Kammerorchester des Saarländischen Rundfunks under the baton of Antonio Janigro.

Analysis

The piece is in one movement that takes approximately eight minutes to perform. It is scored for an ensemble of 12 strings, split into two groups: Group I comprises four

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

s, one

viola The viola ( , also , ) is a string instrument that is bow (music), bowed, plucked, or played with varying techniques. Slightly larger than a violin, it has a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of ...

, and one

cello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a Bow (music), bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), t ...

; and Group II comprises three violins, one viola, one cello, and one

double bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or #Terminology, by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched Bow (music), bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox addit ...

. Moreover, Group I is tuned a

quarter tone A quarter tone is a pitch halfway between the usual notes of a chromatic scale or an interval about half as wide (aurally, or logarithmically) as a semitone, which itself is half a whole tone. Quarter tones divide the octave by 50 cents each, a ...

higher (approximately A=453) than Group II, which is in

standard tuning In music, standard tuning refers to the typical Musical tuning, tuning of a string instrument. This notion is contrary to that of scordatura, i.e. an alternate tuning designated to modify either the timbre or technical capabilities of the desired i ...

. In addition, conventional barring is used merely for synchronization and does not function as a metric indicator. Accordingly, no stresses are made when performing the piece, and the piece is meant to be performed fluently and without discernible rhythm. The composition aims to sound as a heterogeneous, amorphous texture in which the two groups try to retune each other. Ligeti's intention was not to create

microtonal Microtonal music or microtonality is the use in music of microtones—intervals smaller than a semitone, also called "microintervals". It may also be extended to include any music using intervals not found in the customary Western tuning of tw ...

music, but to create "mistuned music" instead. The performers are seated near to each other, so that the audience can listen to the music as if it is coming from only one source. The composition is presented in two different versions: one for 12 soloists and one for a string orchestra. For the orchestra version, it is recommended that the instruments are distributed in a balanced manner. Only the orchestra version makes distinctions when performing tutti and solo parts. However, Ligeti himself preferred the version for soloists.

Notable recordings

Following are some of the most well-known recordings of this piece:

References

External links

A preview of the score
{{Authority control Compositions by György Ligeti 1968 compositions Contemporary classical compositions Music with dedications Compositions for duodecet