György Ligeti composed his eighteen Études pour piano over a period of more than seventeen years. His first book of six Études was published in 1985. From the outset, the composer planned to compose a second volume, also comprising six Études. The reference to the piano tradition and the collections of six and twelve études by Chopin, Liszt or Debussy is obvious. The second book, composed between 1988 and 1994, finally contained eight études. His third and last book includes four more Études composed between 1995 and 2001. - The 18 Études pour piano by Ligeti a counted as one of the most difficult piano works to perform, extremely tricky and technically demanding.