Leopold Auer
Ligeti was born in 1923 at Diciosânmartin ("Dicsőszentmárton"; renamed to Târnăveni in 1941), Transylvania, Romania, to Dr. Sándor Ligeti and Dr. Ilona Somogyi. His family was Hungarian Jewish. He was the great-grandnephew of violinist Leopold Auer and second cousin of Hungarian philosopher Ágnes Heller. Some sources say he was Auer's grandnephew, rather than great-grandnephew.