Cultural Studies paper by Laki, Peter
The Widow in the Old House or The Elevator Is Out Of Order (Accepted)
Type of Abstract (select): Paper presentationAbstract (max. 250 words):
On several occasions, composers György Ligeti (1923-2006) spoke about an early literary memory that he credited with the origins of his meccanico style. He recalled reading a short story by Gyula Krúdy (1878-1933) at the age of five, in which Krúdy supposedly wrote about a widow who lived in an old house filled with constantly ticking clocks. To date, the best Krúdy experts have been unable to identify the story in question, and it is reasonable to assume that in Ligeti's mind, actual elements from the writer's work were freely recombined and reimagined at a time when the compositions partly inspired by the Krúdy experience had already been written.
In addition, there is an aspect of Ligeti's recollection of Krúdy that has not received all the attention it deserves. In his conversations with Péter Várnai, the composer spoke of machines that were working or not working (emphasis mine), and elevators stopping at the wrong floor, or not starting at all. Some of the meccanico works are worth revisiting in search of such “malfunctions” as we try to reimagine the old house where not all the clocks might have been running like clockwork.
This paper proposal is submitted in honor of the 100th anniversary of Ligeti’s birth.
Brief Professional Bio (max. 100 words):
PETER LAKI graduated from the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest in 1979 and received his Ph. D. from the University of Pennsylvania in 1989. He was Program Annotator of the Cleveland Orchestra and taught at Case Western Reserve University, Kent State University, John Carroll University and Oberlin College between 1990 and 2007. He is currently Visiting Associate Professor of Music at Bard College.
Dr. Laki has published and lectured internationally. He edited Bartók and His World (Princeton University Press, 1995). In September 2017, he was one of three keynote speakers at an international Bartók symposium held in Budapest.