The Hungarian-born composer Gyorgy Ligeti, who died yesterday at age 83, was a force in contemporary music. Though Ligeti may be most widely known for his film scores, including “2001: A Space Odyssey” and “Eyes Wide Shut,” his work has also found a welcome home with choreographers.

New York City Ballet’s resident choreographer, Christopher Wheeldon, has made three ballets to Ligeti’s music: “Polyphonia” (2001) and “Morphosis” (June 2002) for City Ballet, as well as “Continuum” (2002) for San Francisco Ballet. In an interview with The New York Sun, Mr. Wheeldon described his use of the composer’s work.

Q: Much of Ligeti’s work has a mysterious tone. How did that engage you when creating dances?

A: It’s very sculptural music. This is not a literal palette in any way.There’s plenty of time to work between the notes. Some of the beauty in his music lies at the end of the chords.

When did you first hear his music?

I played one of his piano pieces when I was learning piano. We had to learn one instrument at the [Royal Ballet] school. I think it was assigned to me.

Did you enjoy it?

Not at 11 years old. It was a little dissonant and atonal for me. It wasn’t until I started work on “Polyphonia” that I started to connect with his music.

What drew you to his music as a choreographer?

It has great musical shape. It’s very descriptive music. Many of his pieces are deemed polyphonic because of his layering of melodies, that’s why I named the ballet “Polyphonia.”

How is the music for that ballet structured?

It is a series of piano pieces. They cover the spectrum of his piano repertory, from simple wedding dances to the “Musica Ricercata.” I used a couple of Etudes, as well.There is a piece from “Eyes Wide Shut” that I used for the pas de deux for Jock Soto and Wendy Whelan.

What was the studio process like with “Polyphonia”?

On first listening, I thought it was interesting, but I wasn’t sure where I was going with it. I didn’t have time to get to know the music terribly well before we started working on it. The melodies cross over each other, and they end up leading the choreography.

So after that good experience, you went back for more?

I loved it. I wanted to tackle some of the more complicated works.”Continuum” is structurally similar to “Polyphonia,” but musically “Continuum” is more complex, as far as the listener is concerned. Ligeti’s “Continuum for Harpsichord” is one short piece for harpsichord that sits in the middle of the ballet, along with other piano pieces of his.

And “Morphosis”?

“Morphosis” had a softer dynamic. It’s for a string quartet, rather than piano, and it’s played through as one piece.

Do you listen to Ligeti for pleasure?

I don’t often listen to the music I choreograph to. When I’m describing his music to an audience that isn’t familiar with it, maybe for a pre-performance talk, I explain that this is not music to enjoy with a glass of wine at the end of the day. It’s more about how dance can demystify contemporary music.