LIGETI is an acronym for the German translation of “Laboratories for Innovation and Social Development through the Transfer of Ideas”. At the same time, the name is a dedication to the composer György Ligeti, who wanted to establish a pioneering computer music centre in Hamburg back in the 1970s. The LIGETI project is funded by the BMBF and the State of Hamburg until the end of 2027 as part of the “Innovative Hochschule” (Innovative University), a joint programme of the Federal Government and Länder (federal states).

At the ligeti centre, the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg (HfMT), the Hamburg University of Applied Sciences (HAW Hamburg), the Hamburg University of Technology (TUHH), and the Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE) work on innovative projects in music and theatre, science, health, and technology. For example, they are researching the therapeutic effects of music, improving the health of musicians, developing new types of musical instruments, or bringing experimental theatre and concert formats to people in the city.

These special activities at the interface between arts and sciences has drawn some media interest. In the summer of 2024, the NDR (Norddeutscher Rundfunk) broadcasted a radio piece about LIGETI and its namesake György Ligeti in a one-hour programme. The piece also took a closer look at two LIGETI sub-projects: the Healing Soundscapes project, which aims to positively influence the at-mosphere of waiting and working areas in hospitals and doctors' surgeries through room-specific sound installations, and the music education app EMI-me!, which is jointly developed by the Games Lab at HAW Hamburg and the Elementary Music Education department at HfMT Hamburg.

The full-length broadcast from the NDR series “Welt der Musik” is currently available online on the NDR website.

Text source: Project team of the ligeti centre in Hamburg