- Subscribe
The Devil's Staircase
<back to videos page> <back to program notes library>
Etude No. 13, "L'escalier du diable"
by György Ligeti
It amazes me that this video continues to generate such intense reactions from people. The "Sheep May Safely Graze" and "Devil's Staircase" videos were the first I ever filmed. I had so much fun trying the different functions on the video camera and even more fun learning to use iMovie. I had no idea however many hundreds of thousands of people would ultimately watch the video someday; if I did, I probably would have taken more care in producing the final product! (Why didn't I play from memory?! I play the piece from memory all the time, but I figured it would be easier to film all the short takes with the music in front of me. Alas. Next time... when I have a 10 million dollar budget and can make it look the way I really want.)
For those who don't like the intro, get over it. Perhaps it was a youthful mistake, but I made the videos with a non-classical music audience in mind, and I wanted to give those viewers a jumping-off point. I figured the classical music snobs could gloss over the 5-second intro. Yes, I may look stupid, but if you don't like it (or any of the "special effects" for that matter), you can always close your eyes.
Listen to the piece of music! It's so incredible! (And the video's not so bad either.)
And for the true classical music (and math!) buffs, here's what the piece is really about: The Devil's Staircase.
-G