L’escalier du Diable
Bridget H.
-
L’escalier du Diable, or the Devil’s Staircase, was composed by Gyorgy Ligeti in 1993 to challenge the modern pianist. The piece depicts an individual’s struggling, despair-inducing, and ultimately futile efforts to escape Hell. The individual is climbing the Devil’s Staircase, where the top of the staircase promises an exit but the individual falls to the bottom every time they near it. While I was learning the piece, I also felt like I was climbing an endless staircase. The notes are random, the beats don’t align, and the pulses are insane to keep. Traditional practice methods didn’t work, so I had to get creative. For example, one of the ways I approached the piece was by forgetting I was playing the piano and instead imagining I was learning the drums. Learning the piece pushed my limits, making the end result absolutely rewarding and cathartic.
-
Creativity is novelty and uniqueness. It shows itself in many different ways, in the process and in the end result, but regardless of how it manifests it is always an aspect of personal expression.
