The influence of Eastern European folk music in Gyorgy Ligeti's compositions is widely known, and his Viola Sonata is no exception. This paper specifically examines the melodic structure of the first movement, Hora Lungă, a title that specifically evokes the Romanian hora lungă, an improvisatory song. The formal processes dictating the pitch content or the length of the melody in the other five movements sound highly structured, but the melody in the first movement seems to expand in a free manner. This paper provides a close examination of the melodic structure of the first movement, specifically the "composing out" of the opening melodic gesture over the course of the movement. Through the lens of a paradigmatic analysis, a set of melodic transformations emerge. These transformations coupled with the pitch structure create a highly structured melody that belies the improvisatory character of this movement.