György Ligeti and Stanley Kubrick
Kubrick's 1968 film, "2001: A Space Odyssey," featured an all classical score. In addition to Johann Strauss and Richard Strauss, four works by Ligeti were used for the film (without permission from the composer). Kubrick had originally commissioned big-time Hollywood composer Alex North. However, Kubrick later decided to use classical music as the film's soundtrack instead, even after sending Ligeti works to North so the film composer could write something similar.
According to Kubrick, Atmospheres was chosen because of the way it conveys timelessness. Ligeti himself had even mentioned that the piece was supposed to cause the listener to lose himself in the piece, to lose sense of time. Without Ligeti's music, there would be no other way for Kubrick to convey timelessness in the final moments of the film.
Author and cultural commentator Norman Lebrecht states: "Kubrick had completely altered the way music was applied in movies; no longer as an enhancement of emotion, but as a dimension in its own right."
Much to his shock, Ligeti found out that his music was featured in A Space Odyssey after receiving a congratulatory letter from a friend in New York regarding his contribution to the film. He then attended a premiere in Vienna and heard a half hour of his music in the film. Ligeti's publishers later sued MGM after learning that North was paid (yes, paid for the soundtrack that wasn't used!), and that the performers of the other recordings used were paid as well. Six years later, after a rude letter that pretty much told Ligeti's publishers that suing was not worth the time, money and effort, MGM paid up $3,500 for the Ligeti works used.
It was thanks to Kubrick's film that a wider audience got to know the music of Ligeti. The film was a worldwide success. After its release, BBC began programming his music on classical music television programs. His music was even featured on the popular late-night John Peel alongside T-Rex, Velvet Underground, and punk music (Steinitz 163). The musical acts named were some of the most popular of the early to mid-seventies; having Ligeti's works played alongside the Velvet Underground proves its popularity outside classical music circles.
Later on, in 1980, Kubrick used Ligeti's Lontano for a scene in The Shining. The piece was featured alongside the music of film composer Wendy Carlos and other composers such as Bela Bartok, Hector Berlioz, and Krzysztof Penderecki. This time, Kubrick actually asked permission to use Ligeti's works and paid him well.
In 1999, Kubrick featured Ligeti's music again in his final film, Eyes Wide Shut. The second movement of his Musica ricercata is used here, the movement using only three dissonant tones that heightened the tension during the most disturbing segments of the film.
