TheOther of theExotic: BalineseMusic asGrammaticalParadigm inLigeti's‘Galamb borong’

Abstract

ABSTRACTFrom the 1980s onwards, György Ligeti openly acknowledged the influence of African polyphony, Indonesian gamelan and music of the Americas on works such as the Piano Concerto (1980–8) and Violin Concerto (1989–93), as well as theÉtudes pour piano(1985–2001). The present article analyses Étude No. 7, ‘Galamb borong’, in order to establish the precise point of intersection between Western and non‐Western within one specific piece. On the basis of this case study, the composer may be shown to celebrate the exotic under the umbrella of the cosmopolitan in a discourse of the universal that is inherently local. Furthermore, by permitting ‘Galamb borong’ to unfold as a dialogue between Balinese music and the Western classical canon, Ligeti's embrace of ‘amalgamated musical languages’ comes to represent an aesthetic standpoint capable of liberating the creative individual not only from inherited tradition but also from the postmodern present.