The beginning of the 1950s marks a turning-point in György Ligeti's early career. At that time, Ligeti had become disappointed regarding his rather marginal position in Hungarian musical life, and he might well have felt some dissatisfaction with his own artistic output, as well. He then set himself certain compositional tasks, and imposed restrictions on pitch content, intervals, and rhythms 'as if to build up a "new music" from nothing'. His collection called Musica Ricercata was the first fruit of his experimental project and marked a renewal of Ligeti's musical creative output. The second piece in this set uses mostly 2 notes: E# and F# with G being heard later in the piece. The principal theme is a plaintive alternation between E♯ and F♯ (a semi-tone apart). This theme is dark and somber, almost bleak. The entrance of G near the middle of the piece is particularly stark, being vigorously attacked in an accelerando. The piece ends in silence with both the main theme and repeated G's fading out.