R. I. P. Karlheinz Stockhausen

[tygger]

His death was announced by Stockhausen foundation yesterday.

Gute Nacht, Karlheinz...

 

[FalconP]

Stockhausen is a musician's musician. More talked about than listened to, his importance is mainly felt through the works of the many composers he influenced. Only the music department in a university can afford to stock the rather costly recordings available though his foundation.

 

[krmathis]

R.I.P.

 

[Quaddy]

shame, i liked his offbeat style

 

[ken36]

R. I. P.

 

[Dondoh]

"To Karlheinz Stockhausen, a musical event was without a determined beginning or an inevitable end; it was neither a consequence of anything that preceded it nor a cause of anything to follow; it was eternity, attainable at any moment, not at the end of time. Whether one liked it or not, weren't life's events like that too?" Jerzy Kosinski

 

[mbhaub]

The only thing that KS ever wrote that had any meaning to me was the introduction to de la Grange's monumental 4-volume biography of Mahler. He said something like, if an alien from another world were to come here and wanted to know and understand what human's were all about, he could do no better than listen to the music of Mahler. Good thing. If the alien had listened to any of Stockhausen's music he'd think we're all a bunch of violent, insane, barbaric wackos. Stockhausen and his musically worthless "school" will soon be forgotten, along with most of the academic composers from his era.

 

[jsaliga]

Funny, the only worthless thing I see is your insensitive and self-indulgent post.

--Jerome

 

[nylan8301]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mbhaub /img/forum/go_quote.gif The only thing that KS ever wrote that had any meaning to me was the introduction to de la Grange's monumental 4-volume biography of Mahler. He said something like, if an alien from another world were to come here and wanted to know and understand what human's were all about, he could do no better than listen to the music of Mahler. Good thing. If the alien had listened to any of Stockhausen's music he'd think we're all a bunch of violent, insane, barbaric wackos. Stockhausen and his musically worthless "school" will soon be forgotten, along with most of the academic composers from his era.

Come on...the guy just died...

We should honor the dead...regardless of their life or what they leave behind...

I realize you have a strong opinion of the man and his music, but he is still a man...

Rest easy, Karlheinz Stockhausen

Nylan

 

[infinitesymphony]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mbhaub /img/forum/go_quote.gif Stockhausen and his musically worthless "school" will soon be forgotten, along with most of the academic composers from his era.

That's not really true... From what I've seen first-hand, there are a great number of university departments and individual composers still interested in hosting and entering electroacoustic events, many of which play music by Stockhausen and his contemporaries. Not everyone would classify this material as "musical," but that's not necessarily a bad thing.

 

[amphead]

R.I.P.!

 

[jsbach]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mbhaub /img/forum/go_quote.gif The only thing that KS ever wrote that had any meaning to me was the introduction to de la Grange's monumental 4-volume biography of Mahler. He said something like, if an alien from another world were to come here and wanted to know and understand what human's were all about, he could do no better than listen to the music of Mahler. Good thing. If the alien had listened to any of Stockhausen's music he'd think we're all a bunch of violent, insane, barbaric wackos. Stockhausen and his musically worthless "school" will soon be forgotten, along with most of the academic composers from his era.

It is very sad to hear of the passing of Maestro Stockhausen. It is more sad to read your comments, but it's very clear to me, you have no idea of all the contributions the Maestro made to the art and craft of composition.

I find this you said quite interesting:

Quote:

Originally Posted by mbhaub /img/forum/go_quote.gif If the alien had listened to any of Stockhausen's music he'd think we're all a bunch of violent, insane, barbaric wackos.

Because when you look at the news in TV, you see a different scene? Because through the history of man kind, we haven't been violent, wacko barbarians? Because the horrors that some of our fellow humans, in other parts of the world are enduring is not barbaric?

The Maestro did portray us in a very honest and accurate way through his music, something that's not to be taken lightly, for great mastery and sensibility is needed to achieve that. It is a misconception, to think that Schoenberg or Stockhausen weren't master composers, for they were master of all traditional forms, and idioms.

I'm sorry to inform you that his "musically worthless school" has transcended the realms of formal music, and whether you like it or not,
just like Schoenberg's it will continue, flourish and evolve.

 

[mbhaub]

I don't doubt for a minute that Stockhausen had an influence on many composers, for good and bad. And his passion for music was very real. But let's be honest: his music never achieved popular acclaim in any sense and it never will. Of course he's not alone. Many composers of his generation like Berio, Xenakis, wrote music that is too difficult for even the educated music consumer, and our only exposure will be on a few scant recordings. Watching trends in so-called "classical" music, I think it's kind of funny that while much attention is now on performing music in historically informed styles, the vast majority of music written in the last half of the 20th century is being utterly ignored. There are some unfortunate casualties, like Roger Sessions. And there are some composers like Messiaen (Stockhausen's teacher) whose music really is becoming better known. But alas, I don't think this will ever happen to KS. Name one piece of music written by any serialist composer in that style that has made it into the "standard rep" of our orchestras. Can't do it, can you? There is one, Wozzeck, but then, it's an opera. That whole generation of composers was led down a dead end path -- just the opposite of what they thought they were doing.
On the other hand....any interested reader should definitely get a Stockhausen work that is well worth hearing: Gruppen. Then to hear what craziness I can't tolerate, hear the Helicopter Quartet.

 

[Sordel]

Yes, Gruppen is a major work, but very rarely performed due its requirement for three small orchestras and three conductors. I was lucky enough to hear Simon Rattle directing a performance a few years back, and he stressed how uncommon it is to hear it staged. The same holds for other Stockhausen works: Licht has not been performed complete (to my knowledge) and most of his works languish on expensive and difficult to obtain CDs.

Stockhausen's influence has been slow to spread outside academic circles because the logistical problems that it poses are so great. Perhaps one day he will be better known, and at that point - for sure - a lot of his works will be dismissed for their inaccessability and oddness.

 

[DrBenway]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mbhaub /img/forum/go_quote.gif But let's be honest: his music never achieved popular acclaim in any sense and it never will.

Your prescience is simply amazing. How is it that you can forcast the future? Would you care to eloborate? And since when is "popular acclaim" a measure of worth? Britney Spears has sold tens of millions of records without a shred of talent to her credit.

Karlheinze Stockhausen was a visionary. Like virtually all visionanies, he was reviled by the more near-sighted among us.

And he died in the same week that we lost the founder of rock n roll, Ike Turner. People hate him too, generally without having heard his music.

Ike and Karlheinz are having a drink in heaven as I write this (and will soon be joined at their table by Charlie Parker, who was also mostly reviled in his lifetime.) With any luck, they will be able to catch Eva Cassidy's late set on the bandstand.