By Erik Morse
German composer, serialist, sonic renegade, and electronic investigator Karlheinz Stockhausen died Wednesday, Dec. 5, at age 79 in Kuerten-Kettenberg, Germany. Largely responsible for introducing - or spoiling - the experimental harmonics of early 20th-century composers Messiaen and Webern to the futurist world of sine-wave electronics, tape-music, and micro-rhythms, he was lauded by everyone from Pierre Boulez to Paul McCartney, who famously included him on the cover of Sgt. Pepper’s. Along with the works of LaMonte Young, Stockhausen’s varied and immense oeuvre proved to be the most influential and compelling of the latter half of the 20th century. According to a writer at London Observer, Stockhausen represented the spirit of rock ‘n' roll long before it acknowledged its forefather. Without Stockhausen, there would be no Beatles, no Velvet Underground, no Brian Eno, no Aphex Twin.
In proper cybernetic tribute, collected here are a number of interviews and excerpts from his work.
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Comments (2)
The San Francisco Contemporary Music Players will perform Stockhausen's "Kontakte" for piano, percussion, and electronics on Monday, March 17, 2008 at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco. Stockhausen's own sound engineer is coming from Germany to participate.
Posted by Adam Frey | January 9, 2008 07:12 PM
Wow! That's really exciting musical news. Thanks for the info. They should do up Ike Turner and Lee Hazlewood too.
Posted by erik m. | January 10, 2008 02:27 PM