2001: A Space Odyssey (soundtrack) mankind's eventual replacement by overmen ("Übermensch") in Nietzsche's work "Thus Spoke Zarathustra". "Gayane's Adagio" from Aram Khachaturian's "Gayane" ballet suite is heard during the sections that introduce Bowman and Poole aboard the "Discovery", conveying a somewhat lonely and mournful quality. In addition to the majestic yet fairly traditional compositions by the two Strausses and Khachaturian, Kubrick used four highly modernistic compositions by György Ligeti that employ micropolyphony, the use of sustained dissonant chords that shift slowly. This technique was pioneered in "Atmosphères", the only Ligeti piece heard in its entirety in the film. Ligeti admired Kubrick's film but, in addition
2001: A Space Odyssey (film) science-fiction films of the time, Kubrick used Homers "The Odyssey" as inspiration for the title. Kubrick said, "It occurred to us that for the Greeks the vast stretches of the sea must have had the same sort of mystery and remoteness that space has for our generation." Kubrick and Clarke planned to develop the first, free of the constraints of film, and then write the screenplay. They planned the writing credits to be "Screenplay by Stanley Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke, based on a novel by Arthur C. Clarke and Stanley Kubrick" to reflect their preeminence in their respective fields.