The first part of the book centers on questions of biography, art and music theory, the psychology of creation and general aesthetics and concerns basic traits of Ligeti’s personality and work. The more extensive second part comprises discussions of his most representative works, with special emphasis on the processes of creation.

Constantin Floros is professor emeritus of Musicology at the University of Hamburg. Among his works are volumes on the origin of Gregorian neumes, about Gustav Mahler, Anton Bruckner, Johannes Brahms, Ludwig van Beethoven and Alban Berg. Ernest Bernhardt-Kabisch is professor emeritus of English and Comparative Literature at Indiana University. He has translated several books by Constantin Floros.

«This study excels all previous monographs on the subject of Ligeti in factual thoroughness and breadth of aesthetic horizon, in fineness of intellectual portraiture and authority of musical analysis.» (Lutz Lesle) «The most exciting, comprehensible, analytically profound and conceptually lucid study to date, which, in addition, for the first time incorporates the sketches in the discussion and thereby elucidates the basic ideas underlying many of the works.» ()

Contents: Biographical Sketch – Questions of Identity – Towards an Intellectual Physiognomy – A «non-Puristic» Music – Metaphors, Allusions and Synästhesias – Time and Space – New Sound Images – Popularity – Going beyond Serialism – – The Turning-point 1980 – Epater l’Avant-garde – The Piano Etudes – The Concerti for Piano, Violin and Horn – Afterword.