Tonal Procedures in Etude 18, Canon

Abstract

Ligeti’s groundbreaking final piano etude is in two main sections. The bulk of the work is a Vivace poco rubato (Fig. 5.1) in unbroken running eighth notes that is then repeated in full even faster, Prestissimo—interestingly, the first appearance of the repeat symbol in all of his piano etudes. This is followed by a brief epilogue, Lento con tenerezza (Fig. 5.2), comprised of a string of trichords in each hand arriving at a final A-minor triad. Both sections are in canon: in the Vivace, the LH follows the RH two octaves lower with a delay of two RUs, whereas in the conclusion the LH is an octave down with a delay of a single RU. In the Vivace there are two voices in each hand (save for occasional single notes, which may be interpreted as unisons), making Canon is something of a double-note etude. This thick yet extremely rapid texture poses such extreme technical challenges that Ligeti originally considered calling the piece Casse doigt—“Fingerbreaker” (Steinitz 2003, 164).