''Atmosphères'' is a piece for orchestra, composed by

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 music, avant-garde composers in the latter half of the ...

in 1961. It is noted for eschewing conventional

melody A melody (), also tune, voice, or line, is a linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most literal sense, a melody is a combination of Pitch (music), pitch and rhythm, while more figurativel ...

and

metre The metre (or meter in US spelling; symbol: m) is the base unit of length in the International System of Units (SI). Since 2019, the metre has been defined as the length of the path travelled by light in vacuum during a time interval of of ...

in favor of dense sound textures. After ''Apparitions'', it was the second piece Ligeti wrote to exploit what he called a " micropolyphonic" texture. It gained further exposure after being used in Stanley Kubrick's film '' 2001: A Space Odyssey''.

History

''Atmosphères'' was commissioned in 1961 by the Southwest German Radio (SWF) and had its world premiere on 22 October 1961 by

Hans Rosbaud Hans Rosbaud (22 July 1895 – 29 December 1962) was an Austrian conductor, particularly associated with the music of the twentieth century. Biography Rosbaud was born in Graz. As children, he and his brother Paul Rosbaud performed with thei ...

conducting the SWF Symphony Orchestra at the

Donaueschingen Festival The Donaueschingen Festival, or more precisely ''Donaueschingen Music Days'' (), is a three-day October event presenting new music in the town of the same name, where the Danube River starts, at the edge of the Black Forest in southern Germany. F ...

. Ligeti dedicated the piece to the memory of

Mátyás Seiber Mátyás György Seiber (, sometimes given as Matthis Seyber; 4 May 1905 – 24 September 1960) was a Hungarian-born British composer who lived and worked in the United Kingdom from 1935 onwards. His work linked many diverse musical influences, ...

, a fellow Hungarian-born composer who had been killed in a car crash the previous year. The SWF recorded this performance for broadcast, and this recording has been released commercially on CD several times. Paul Griffiths writes that this performance made Ligeti a "talking point". Ligeti says that after this and his earlier piece ''Apparitions'', he "became famous".

Leonard Bernstein Leonard Bernstein ( ; born Louis Bernstein; August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was th ...

conducted the New York premiere in 1964 with the

New York Philharmonic The New York Philharmonic is an American symphony orchestra based in New York City. Known officially as the ''Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc.'', and globally known as the ''New York Philharmonic Orchestra'' (NYPO) or the ''New Yo ...

and recorded it with them at the Manhattan Center in New York on 6 January 1964 for Columbia Masterworks, reissued in 1968 on Columbia Records, and in 1999 on a Sony Classical CD.

Music

Instrumentation

''Atmosphères'' is scored for an orchestra with the following instrumentation.

Woodwinds Woodwind instruments are a family of musical instruments within the greater category of wind instruments. Common examples include flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon, and saxophone. There are two main types of woodwind instruments: flutes and re ...

: 4

flutes The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...

(all double

piccolo The piccolo ( ; ) is a smaller version of the western concert flute and a member of the woodwind family of musical instruments. Sometimes referred to as a "baby flute" or piccolo flute, the modern piccolo has the same type of fingerings as the ...

) : 4

oboes The oboe ( ) is a type of double-reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common type of oboe, the soprano oboe pitched in C, ...

: 4

clarinets The clarinet is a single-reed musical instrument in the woodwind family, with a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell. Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches. The clarinet family is the largest woodwin ...

(4th also E clarinet) : 3

bassoons The bassoon is a musical instrument in the woodwind family, which plays in the tenor and bass ranges. It is composed of six pieces, and is usually made of wood. It is known for its distinctive tone color, wide range, versatility, and virtuosity ...

: 1

contrabassoon The contrabassoon, also known as the double bassoon, is a larger version of the bassoon, sounding an octave lower. Its technique is similar to its smaller cousin, with a few notable differences. Differences from the bassoon The Reed (mouthpie ...

;

Brass Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc, in proportions which can be varied to achieve different colours and mechanical, electrical, acoustic and chemical properties, but copper typically has the larger proportion, generally copper and zinc. I ...

: 6

horns Horns or The Horns may refer to: * Plural of Horn (anatomy) * Plural of Horn (instrument), a group of musical instruments all with a horn-shaped bells * The Horns (Colorado), a summit on Cheyenne Mountain * Horns (novel), ''Horns'' (novel), a dar ...

: 4

trumpets The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard B o ...

: 4

trombones The trombone (, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's lips vibrate inside a mouthpiece, causing the air column inside the instrument to ...

: 1

tuba The tuba (; ) is the largest and lowest-pitched musical instrument in the brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, the sound is produced by lip vibrationa buzzinto a mouthpiece (brass), mouthpiece. It first appeared in th ...

Keyboard instrument A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument played using a keyboard, a row of levers that are pressed by the fingers. The most common of these are the piano, organ, and various electronic keyboards, including synthesizers and digital piano ...

: 1

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

(played by 2 percussionists)

Strings String or strings may refer to: *String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...

: 14 first

violins The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino pic ...

: 14 second violins : 10

violas The viola ( , () ) is a string instrument of the violin family, and is usually bowed when played. Violas are slightly larger than violins, and have a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of the ...

: 10

cellos The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, ...

: 8

double basses The double bass (), also known as the upright bass, the acoustic bass, the bull fiddle, or simply the bass, is the largest and lowest-pitched chordophone in the modern symphony orchestra (excluding rare additions such as the octobass). It has ...

Style

''Atmosphères'' eschews conventional melody, harmony, and rhythm, in favor of "sound masses" with sliding and merging orchestral

clusters may refer to: Science and technology Astronomy * Cluster (spacecraft), constellation of four European Space Agency spacecraft * Cluster II (spacecraft), a European Space Agency mission to study the magnetosphere * Asteroid cluster, a small ...

that suggest

timbre In music, timbre (), also known as tone color or tone quality (from psychoacoustics), is the perceived sound of a musical note, sound or tone. Timbre distinguishes sounds according to their source, such as choir voices and musical instrument ...

is the central focus of the piece. It exemplifies Ligeti's notion of "static, self-contained music without either development or traditional rhythmic configurations." Harold Kaufman has written that Ligeti's music collapses foreground and background elements of musical structure into a "magma of evolving sound". The piece heavily utilizes

tone cluster A tone cluster is a musical chord comprising at least three adjacent tones in a scale. Prototypical tone clusters are based on the chromatic scale and are separated by semitones. For instance, three adjacent piano keys (such as C, C, and D) s ...

s of notes (meaning several adjacent notes on a scale are played) in which generally no two instruments ever play the same note. The popular music edition ''All Music Guide'' describes the piece as having clusters of notes from which sections fall out, leaving "masses of natural notes". The piece features "shimmering rapid

vibrato Vibrato (Italian language, Italian, from past participle of "wikt:vibrare, vibrare", to vibrate) is a musical effect consisting of a regular, pulsating change of pitch (music), pitch. It is used to add expression to vocal and instrumental music. ...

, multiple high

glissandi In music, a glissando (; plural: ''glissandi'', abbreviated ''gliss.'') is a wikt:glide, glide from one pitch (music), pitch to another (). It is an Italianized Musical terminology, musical term derived from the French ''glisser'', "to glide". In ...

, waves of string

harmonic In physics, acoustics, and telecommunications, a harmonic is a sinusoidal wave with a frequency that is a positive integer multiple of the ''fundamental frequency'' of a periodic signal. The fundamental frequency is also called the ''1st har ...

s in different

metres The metre (or meter in US spelling; symbol: m) is the base unit of length in the International System of Units (SI). Since 2019, the metre has been defined as the length of the path travelled by light in vacuum during a time interval of of ...

, ndnotes moving along the same path but at different speeds". Program notes provided by Ensemble Sospeso describe ''Atmosphères'' as the "first major alternative to European

serialism In music, serialism is a method of composition using series of pitches, rhythms, dynamics, timbres or other musical elements. Serialism began primarily with Arnold Schoenberg's twelve-tone technique, though some of his contemporaries were also ...

: static masses of orchestral sound that give the simultaneous sense of immobility and motion." On the other hand, a close investigation of Ligeti's relationship to the Darmstadt avant-garde concludes that ''Atmosphères'' should "be seen as part of an evolution within the serial tradition and a response to problems articulated within it, rather than as a break from that tradition altogether". The

sound mass In musical composition, a sound mass or sound collective is the result of compositional techniques, in which "the importance of individual pitches" is minimized "in preference for texture, timbre, and dynamics as primary shapers of gesture and ...

es in ''Atmosphères'' are seen particularly to conform to the serial precepts of

Karlheinz Stockhausen Karlheinz Stockhausen (; 22 August 1928 – 5 December 2007) was a German composer, widely acknowledged by critics as one of the most important but also controversial composers of the 20th and early 21st centuries. He is known for his groun ...

's "statistical form", as exemplified in ''

Gesang der Jünglinge ''Gesang der Jünglinge'' (literally "Song of the Youths") is an electronic music work by Karlheinz Stockhausen. It was realized in 1955–56 at the Westdeutscher Rundfunk studio in Cologne and is Work Number 8 in the composer's catalog. The voc ...

'' (1955–56) and ''

Gruppen ''Gruppen'' ( German for "Groups") for three orchestras (1955–57) is amongst the best-known compositions of German composer Karlheinz Stockhausen, and is Work Number 6 in the composer's catalog of works. ''Gruppen'' is "a landmark in 20th-cen ...

'' (1955–57).

Sense of timelessness

The piece evokes a sense of timelessness in which the listener is lost in a web of texture and tonality. Harald Kaufmann has described it as "acoustically standing still", a stationary sound that has movement within it that is similar to breathing. The classical music edition of ''All Music Guide'' says the music "scarcely hints at forward movement. Rather the listener hears an all but motionless series of sound evolutions unfolding at various moments". According to Peter Laki:

Larry Sitsky Lazar "Larry" Sitsky (born 10 September 1934) is an Australian composer, pianist, and music educator and scholar. Sitsky was the first Australian to be invited to the USSR on a cultural exchange visit, organised by the Australian Department ...

has written that in Ligeti's music "the density of the successive structures is such that the conventional parameters through which musical form (melody, rhythm, harmony) is traditionally perceived appear to have been evacuated. Consequently, these evolving sound structures seem stationary, as if detached from the passage of time. To paraphrase the composer himself, the micropolyphonic textures tend to hang like a mighty oriental tapestry, suspended outside time." Likewise, Thomas May states that in his breakthrough orchestral pieces ''Apparitions'' and ''Atmosphères'' Ligeti's "new musical point of view... looked beyond the traditional basic elements of melody, harmony, and rhythm, immobilizing these in favor of the mass and texture of sound itself. Gigantic clusters of chords hover in a stasis that negates familiar signposts of harmony and pulse. This dense sound-fog became known as the signature Ligeti style".

Ligeti's musical theory

In an essay titled "Metamorphoses of Musical Form", Ligeti developed the concept of musical "permeability" according to which a musical structure is "permeable" if it allows a free choice of intervals and "impermeable" if not. Ligeti here considers

Palestrina Palestrina (ancient ''Praeneste''; , ''Prainestos'') is a modern Italian city and ''comune'' (municipality) with a population of about 22,000, in Lazio, about east of Rome. It is connected to the latter by the Via Prenestina. It is built upon ...

's music as having "perhaps the lowest degree of permeability" because its handling of

consonance and dissonance In music, consonance and dissonance are categorizations of simultaneous or successive sounds. Within the Western tradition, some listeners associate consonance with sweetness, pleasantness, and acceptability, and dissonance with harshness, unple ...

was the most sensitively defined of all historical styles. Ligeti saw permeability and impermeability of groups, structures, and textures in serial music as substitutes for the form-shaping function of melodic lines, motifs, and harmonies in older styles. Some textures could be layered and juxtaposed; some musical structures will mix with others seamlessly, while other structures will stand out. ''Atmospheres'' exemplifies much of Ligeti's theory suspending harmony in favor of sustained sounds. The piece opens with a "fully

chromatic Diatonic and chromatic are terms in music theory that are used to characterize scales. The terms are also applied to musical instruments, intervals, chords, notes, musical styles, and kinds of harmony. They are very often used as a pair, es ...

cluster may refer to: Science and technology Astronomy * Cluster (spacecraft), constellation of four European Space Agency spacecraft * Cluster II (spacecraft), a European Space Agency mission to study the magnetosphere * Asteroid cluster, a small ...

covering more than five

octave In music, an octave (: eighth) or perfect octave (sometimes called the diapason) is an interval between two notes, one having twice the frequency of vibration of the other. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been referr ...

s, held by

strings String or strings may refer to: *String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...

and soft

woodwinds Woodwind instruments are a family of musical instruments within the greater category of wind instruments. Common examples include flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon, and saxophone. There are two main types of woodwind instruments: flutes and re ...

", out of which various groups of instruments drop out successively, followed by various "strands of sonic fabric" reenter the composition, first white notes then black notes along with shifts in timbre and duration of notes that drive the piece forward. Consequently, Griffiths writes, "the whole piece is a study in what Ligeti's essay had called the 'permeability' of musical structures, how some will mix with a great many others, some stand always apart; it is also a demonstration of what can be achieved when all the usual regulators, being so finely tuned at the time by other composers, are left open." Ligeti noted that ''Atmosphères'' had a

polyphonic Polyphony ( ) is a type of musical texture consisting of two or more simultaneous lines of independent melody, as opposed to a musical texture with just one voice ( monophony) or a texture with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chords ...

structure, but one organized by his own rules. The polyphonic structure, he stated, cannot be heard by the listener, but remains "underwater", hidden from the listener. Ligeti coined the term "

micropolyphony Micropolyphony is a kind of polyphonic musical texture developed by György Ligeti, which consists of many lines of dense canons moving at different tempos or rhythms, thus resulting in tone clusters. According to David Cope, "micropolyphony res ...

" to describe this texture.

In ''2001: A Space Odyssey''

Stanley Kubrick Stanley Kubrick (; July 26, 1928 – March 7, 1999) was an American filmmaker and photographer. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, Stanley Kubrick filmography, his films were nearly all adaptations of novels or sho ...

chose this piece and others by Ligeti for the scenes in deep space and those with the monolith in his 1968 film '' 2001: A Space Odyssey'' because its quality of mystery was a good sonic realization of his vision. This resulted in the exposure of Ligeti's music to a much wider audience. The recording of ''Atmosphères'' used in the

soundtrack A soundtrack is a recorded audio signal accompanying and synchronised to the images of a book, drama, motion picture, radio program, television show, television program, or video game; colloquially, a commercially released soundtrack album of m ...

to the film ''2001: A Space Odyssey'' was with the

Southwest German Radio Symphony Orchestra The Southwest German Radio Symphony Orchestra (also known in English as the SWR Baden-Baden Freiburg Symphony Orchestra and in German as the Sinfonieorchester des Südwestrundfunks) was a German radio orchestra located in the German cities of Ba ...

conducted by

Ernest Bour Ernest Bour (20 April 1913 - 20 June 2001) was a noted conductor. Born in Thionville, Moselle (in north-eastern Lorraine, then part of Germany), Bour studied at both the University and the Conservatoire of Strasbourg. His conducting teachers incl ...

. Kubrick would go on to employ other Ligeti compositions in his films '' The Shining'' and ''

Eyes Wide Shut ''Eyes Wide Shut'' is a 1999 erotic mystery psychological drama film directed, produced, and co-written by Stanley Kubrick. It is based on the 1926 novella '' Dream Story'' () by Arthur Schnitzler, transferring the story's setting from earl ...

''. According to program notes published by the

San Francisco Symphony The San Francisco Symphony, founded in 1911, is an American orchestra based in San Francisco, California. Since 1980 the orchestra has been resident at the Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall in the city's Hayes Valley, San Francisco, Hayes Valley ne ...

, Ligeti was not pleased that his music occurred in a film soundtrack shared by composers

Johann Johann, typically a male given name, is the German form of ''Iohannes'', which is the Latin form of the Greek name ''Iōánnēs'' (), itself derived from Hebrew name '' Yochanan'' () in turn from its extended form (), meaning "Yahweh is Graciou ...

and

Richard Strauss Richard Georg Strauss (; ; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a German composer and conductor best known for his Tone poems (Strauss), tone poems and List of operas by Richard Strauss, operas. Considered a leading composer of the late Roman ...

. Nevertheless, the piece has been performed in concert several times with other works featured in the film ''2001: A Space Odyssey'', such as a 2010 performance by the

Nashville Symphony The Nashville Symphony is an American symphony orchestra, based in Nashville, Tennessee. The orchestra is resident at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center. History In 1920, prior to the 1946 founding of the Nashville Symphony, a group of amateur a ...

, which performed it along with the full-length version of Richard Strauss' ''

Thus Spake Zarathustra ''Thus Spoke Zarathustra: A Book for All and None'' (), also translated as ''Thus Spake Zarathustra'', is a work of philosophical fiction written by German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche; it was published in four volumes between 1883 and 1885. ...

''.

Notable recent performances

A 2006 performance of ''Atmosphères'' by the

London Philharmonic Orchestra The London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) is a British orchestra based in London. One of five permanent symphony orchestras in London, the LPO was founded by the conductors Thomas Beecham, Sir Thomas Beecham and Malcolm Sargent in 1932 as a riv ...

was noted for its direct transition without interruption into

Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ( – 6 April 1971) was a Russian composer and conductor with French citizenship (from 1934) and American citizenship (from 1945). He is widely considered one of the most important and influential composers of ...

's ''

The Rite of Spring ''The Rite of Spring'' () is a ballet and orchestral concert work by the Russian composer Igor Stravinsky. It was written for the 1913 Paris season of Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes company; the original choreography was by Vaslav Nijinsky ...

'', which ''

Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...

'' music critic Hugh Canning described as a "stroke of programming genius", continuing:

Edward Seckerson Edward Seckerson is a British music journalist and radio presenter specialising in musical theatre. Formerly Chief Classical Music Critic of the Independent, Edward Seckerson is a writer, broadcaster and podcaster. He wrote and presented the lon ...

of UK's ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' also described this segue as a "startling coup" while Richard Morrison of the daily edition of ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' noted that "Jurowski even kept a beat going, to fool us ... so that Stravinsky's bassoon emerged out of Ligeti's wispy, endlessly drifting clouds of clusters." Another recently acclaimed performance was that by Austria's

Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester (GMJO) is a youth orchestra based in Vienna, Austria, founded in 1986 by conductor Claudio Abbado, and named after Gustav Mahler. It is an associated member of the European Federation of National Youth Orchestras. ...

(Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra) performing in England, a performance described as "a focused reading" in which the conductor "Nott duly coerced a delicacy from each section of the orchestra—particularly the centrifugal strings—that gave a wonderful smoothness to the performance".

Reworking

Belgian classical guitarist Tom Pauwels wrote a reduced arrangement of ''Atmosphères'' for a small chamber orchestra of eight instruments, using a

graphic score Graphic notation (or graphic score) is the representation of music through the use of visual symbols outside the realm of traditional music notation. Graphic notation became popular in the 1950s, and can be used either in combination with or instea ...

for clarinet, cello, accordion, guitar and laptop (sine tones) based on the Ligeti original. It has been performed by Plus-minus ensemble, and posted by the ensemble as a video.

Discography

In chronological order of recording, many of which have been released in different couplings. * SWF-Sinfonieorchester Baden-Baden, conducted by Hans Rosbaud ecording of the world premiere in Donaueschingen on 22 October 1961">Donaueschingen.html" ;"title="ecording of the world premiere in Donaueschingen">ecording of the world premiere in Donaueschingen on 22 October 1961**1990. ''40 Jahre Donaueschinger Musiktage 1950–1990''. Col Legno AU-031800 CD. 4-CD set + 1 booklet. Munich: Col Legno Musikproduction; Staufen im Breisgau: Aurophon. (With music by Hartmann, Boulez, Nono, Xenakis, Penderecki, Stockhausen, Stravinsky, Zimmermann, Holliger, Lachenmann, Raseghi, Messiaen, Carter, Rihm, and Kalitzke.) **1996. ''75 Jahre Donaueschinger Musiktage 1921–1996'': CD 9. Col Legno WWE 12CD 31899 (12-CD set); Col Legno WWE 1CD 31908 (single CD number). Munich: Col Legno Musikproduction; Staufen im Breisgau: Aurophon. **2000. ''Musiktage Donaueschingen: Uraufführungen 1955–1989''. Musik in Deutschland 1950–2000; Konzertmusik; Musik für Orchester; Sinfonische Musik; Porträt. RCA Red Seal/BMG 74321-73510. 1 CD, 12 cm. + booklet. [Munich]: BMG Classics. [Note: booklet misidentifies the conductor as Ernest Bour] (With music by Xenakis, Penderecki, Messiaen, Holliger, Lachenmann, and Rihm.) * New York Philharmonic, conducted by Leonard Bernstein ecorded in New York City at the Manhattan Center 6 January 1964**1965. ''Leonard Bernstein Conducts Music of Our Time''. Columbia Masterworks/CBS MS 6733 (stereo). LP recording, 1 sound disc, 33 rpm, 12 in. New York: CBS Records. (With music by Morton Feldman, Larry Austin, and four improvisations by the New York Philharmonic. Program notes by Edward Downes on the jacket.) **1968. ''Music from 2001: A Space Odyssey. Suite from Aniara''. Columbia Masterworks/CBS MS 7176 (stereo). LP recording, 1 sound disc, 33 rpm, 12 in. New York: CBS Records. **1999. ''Music of Our Time''. Sony Classical SMK 61845. 1-CD. New York: Sony Music Entertainment. (With music by Morton Feldman, Edison Denisov, Gunther Schuller, Olivier Messiaen, and four improvisations by the New York Philharmonic. Program notes by Tim Page in English with German and French translations inserted in container.) * Sinfonie-orchester des Südwestfunks, Baden-Baden, cond. Ernest Bour ecorded April 1966**

966 Year 966 (Roman numerals, CMLXVI) was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * 23 June - Arab-Byzantine Wars, Byzantine-Arab War: Arab-Byzantine prisoner exchanges, A prisoner excha ...

''György Ligeti: Atmospheres (1961) für grosses Orchester und Schlagzeug. Continuum für Cembalo solo''. Wergo Taschen-Diskothek Neuer Musik. Wergo WER 305. LP recording, 2 sides, 7 inch, 33 rpm, stereo. Baden-Baden: Wergo Schallplattenverlag, GmbH. **1966. ''György Ligeti: Aventures (1962), Nouvelles aventures (1966): für 3 Sänger und 7 Instrumentalisten, Atmosphères, Volumina für Orgel''. Studio-Reihe neuer Musik. Wergo WER 60 022. LP recording, 1 disc, 33 rpm. stereo, 12 in. Baden-Baden: Wergo Schallplattenverlag, GmbH. **1968. ''2001, A Space Odyssey: Music from the Motion Picture Sound Track''. LP recording, 1 sound disc, 33 rpm, stereo, 12 in. MGM 1SE 13 ST. ew York MGM. **1970. ''György Ligeti: Aventures (1962); Nouvelles aventures (1962–65); Atmosphères; Volumina (1961–62, 1st version)''. Heliodor. (Program notes by the composer and others on container and on leaf inserted in container.) **1988. ''György Ligeti: Kammerkonzert für 13 Instrumentalisten; Ramifications für Streichorchester; Ramifications für 12 Solostreicher; Lux aeterna; Atmosphères''. Wergo WER 60162-50. Compact disc, 1 sound disc, 4 in. Mainz: Wergo. (Program notes by the composer and others in German with English and French translations inserted in container.) **

990s The 990s decade ran from January 1, 990, to December 31, 999. Significant people * Al-Qadir * Mahmud of Ghazni * Pope John XV * Pope Gregory V References {{Reflist ...

''2001: A Space Odyssey—Original Soundtrack''. Polydor/PolyGram 831 068. Compact disc, 1 sound disc: digital, stereo., 4 in. Hamburg: Polydor. **1996. ''2001: A Space Odyssey—Original Soundtrack''. Rhino/Atlantic 72562. Compact Disc. 1 sound disc, stereo, 4 in. **2000. ''Musik in Deutschland 1950–2000: Konzertmusik, Musik für Orchester, Sinfonische Musik, Porträt''. RCA Red Seal/BMG Classics 74321-73508; 74321 73509; 74321 73510; 74321 73511; 74321 73512; 74321 73513; 74321 73656. Compact disc 6 sound discs, stereo, 4 in. ermany BMG Classics:

Deutscher Musikrat The (DMR, ''German Music Council''; ) is an umbrella organization for music associations and the 16 music councils of the German federal states.musikrat.deÜberblick über Organisationsstruktur des DMR(retrieved on 10 May 2019) It represents over ...

; .p. RCA Red Seal. *Yomiuri Nihon Kokyo Gakudan, cond. Seiji Ozawa rogramme recorded live at Tokyo's Nissei Theatre on May 1, 2, and 4, 1966**1967. ''Orchestra Space at Nissei Theatre, 1966'', vol. 2. Victor SJV 1513. 1 LP sound disc : analog, 33 rpm, stereo. ; 12 in.

apan Apan is a city and one of the 84 municipalities of Hidalgo, in central-eastern Mexico. The municipality covers an area of 346.9 km2. Overview-Twin Towns-sister Cities As of 2005, the municipality had a total population of 39,247. It was a ...

Victor. **1978. ''Orchestral Space''. Varese Sarabande/MCA VS-81060. LP recording, 1 disc, 33 rpm, stereo, 12 in. os Angeles Varese Sarabande. Reissued in 1986 on CD, Varèse Sarabande/MCA VSD-47253. *

Wiener Philharmoniker Vienna Philharmonic (VPO; ) is an orchestra that was founded in 1842 and is considered to be one of the finest in the world. The Vienna Philharmonic is based at the Musikverein in Vienna, Austria. Its members are selected from the orchestra of ...

, cond.

Claudio Abbado Claudio Abbado (; 26 June 1933 – 20 January 2014) was an Italian conductor who was one of the leading conductors of his generation. He served as music director of the La Scala opera house in Milan, principal conductor of the Berlin Philharm ...

ecorded live, Vienna, Musikverein, Grosser Saal, October 1988">Musikverein.html" ;"title="ecorded live, Vienna, Musikverein">ecorded live, Vienna, Musikverein, Grosser Saal, October 1988**1990. ''Wien Modern''. Deutsche Grammophon/PolyGram 429 260. 1 CD sound disc, digital, stereo, 4 in. Hamburg: Deutsche Grammophon. **2006. ''György Ligeti: Clear or Cloudy''. Deutsche Grammophon/Universal Classics 477 6443-477 6447. Compact disc 4 sound discs, digital, stereo, 4 in. Hamburg: Deutsche Grammophon. * Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, cond. John Mauceri [recorded in Hollywood, California: July 11, September 20 & 22, 1994] **1995. ''Journey to the Stars: A Sci-Fi Fantasy Adventure''. Philips/PolyGram 446 403. [N.p]: Philips; New York: PolyGram Classics. (With music by Karl-Birger Blomdahl,

Bernard Herrmann Bernard Herrmann (born Maximillian Herman; June 29, 1911December 24, 1975) was an American composer and conductor best known for his work in film scoring. As a conductor, he championed the music of lesser-known composers. He is widely regarde ...

Jerry Goldsmith Jerrald King Goldsmith (February 10, 1929July 21, 2004) was an American composer, conductor and orchestrator with a career in film and television scoring that spanned nearly 50 years and over 200 productions, between 1954 and 2003. He was consid ...

Bebe and Louis Barron Bebe Barron ( – ) and Louis Barron ( – ) were pioneers in the field of electronic music. The American couple is credited with writing the first electronic music for magnetic tape composed in the United States, and the first entirely ...

Franz Waxman Franz Waxman (né Wachsmann; December 24, 1906February 24, 1967) was a German-born composer and conductor of Jewish descent, known primarily for his work in the film music genre. His film scores include ''Bride of Frankenstein'', ''Rebecca (194 ...

John Corigliano John Paul Corigliano (born February 16, 1938) is an American composer of contemporary classical music. With over 100 compositions, he has won accolades including a Pulitzer Prize, five Grammy Awards, Grawemeyer Award for Music Composition, and a ...

Alex North Alex North (born Isadore Soifer; December 4, 1910 – September 8, 1991) was an American composer best known for his many film scores, including ''A Streetcar Named Desire'' (one of the first jazz-based film scores), '' Viva Zapata!'', ''Spartac ...

John Williams John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932)Nylund, Rob (November 15, 2022)Classic Connection review, ''WBOI'' ("For the second time this year, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic honored American composer, conductor, and arranger John Williams, who w ...

Danny Elfman Daniel Robert Elfman (born May 29, 1953) is an American film composer, singer, songwriter, and musician. He came to prominence as the lead vocalist and primary songwriter for the new wave band Oingo Boingo in the early 1980s. Since scoring his ...

, and

Arthur Bliss Sir Arthur Edward Drummond Bliss (2 August 189127 March 1975) was an English composer and conductor. Bliss's musical training was cut short by the First World War, in which he served with distinction in the army. In the post-war years he qui ...

.) *

City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO) is a British orchestra based in Birmingham, England. It is the resident orchestra at Symphony Hall, Birmingham in Birmingham, which has been its principal performance venue since 1991. Its adminis ...

, cond.

Simon Rattle Sir Simon Denis Rattle (born 19 January 1955) is a British conductor with German citizenship. He rose to international prominence during the 1980s and 1990s, while music director of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (1980–1998). Rat ...

ecorded 1996**2005. ''Leaving Home – Music In The 20th Century: A Conducted Tour by Sir Simon Rattle and The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra'', vol. 2: Rhythm. Arthaus Musik 102035. DVD video recording, 4 in., region 0 (worldwide). Also available as part of a 7-DVD set, Arthaus Musik 102 073. Leipzig: Arthaus Musik GmbH. (Excerpts from ''Atmosphères'', as well as from music by Stravinsky, Varèse, Reich, Boulez, Messiaen, Mahler, and Nancarrow.) * Philharmonisches Orchester Heidelberg, cond. Thomas Kalb ecorded late 1990s **1999. ''Nacht der Planeten'', vol. 1. Hoepfner Classics. Antes Edition BM-CD 31.9131. Compact disc, 1 sound disc, digital, stereo, 4 in. Bühl: Bella Musica Edition. (With music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Alexander Raskatov.) * Berliner Philharmoniker, cond. Jonathan Nott ecorded Berlin, Philharmonie, 13–16 December 2001**2002. ''The Ligeti Project II''. (With: Ligeti, Lontano, San Francisco Polyphony, Apparitions, and Concert românesc.). Teldec/Warner Classics 8573-88261. Compact disc recording. Hamburg: Teldec Classics **2008. Reissued as disc 2 of ''The Ligeti Project: Atmosphères, Chamber Concerto, Etc''. 5-CDs. Teldec/Warner Classics 510998; Warner Classics 2564 69673-5. Hamburg: Teldec Classics.; nited Kingdom Warner Classics. *

Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra The Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra (Finnish: ''Radion sinfoniaorkesteri'', Swedish: ''Radions symfoniorkester''; abbreviated as RSO) is a Finnish Radio orchestra, broadcast orchestra based in Helsinki, and the orchestra of the Finnish Broadcasti ...

, cond.

Hannu Lintu Hannu Petteri Lintu (born 13 October 1967) is a Finnish conductor. Early life and education Hannu Lintu was born in Rauma, the son of Johannes Lintu, an electrical engineer, and his wife Lilja Lintu (née Toivonen), a photographer. He studied p ...

ecorded Helsinki, Musiikkitalo, 29–31 August 2012**2013. ''György Ligeti''. (With: Lontano, Violin Concerto (soloist Benjamin Schmid), Atmosphères, San Francisco Polyphony). Ondine ODE 1213-2. Compact disc recording. Ondine Oy.

References

Sources * * * * *

External links

* Hufner, Martin. 1999.
György Ligeti: ''Atmosphères'' für großes Orchester: Sensationen in der Luft
. ''kritische musik.de'' (Accessed 21 February 2010) * , Alan Gilbert, Orchestre philharmonique de Radio France (2019)
Video including portions of ''Atmosphères'' played backwards
{{DEFAULTSORT:Atmospheres Compositions by György Ligeti 1961 compositions

History

Music

Instrumentation

Style

Sense of timelessness

Ligeti's musical theory

In ''2001: A Space Odyssey''

Notable recent performances

Reworking

Discography

References

Further reading

External links