The Karlheinz Stockhausen Legacy
German Avant-Garde Composer Dies at 79 on December 5, 2007
Karlheinz Stockhausen, a composer whose experiments in electronic sound influenced several 20th century artists, died on December 5th.
On December 5, 2007, the avant-garde music world lost one of its most influential composers. At the age of 79, Karlheinz Stockhausen passed away in Kuerten, western Germany. In 1928, he was born into an era that redefined how sound could be used in music and lived to see his ideas influence artists from all points of the musical map. Miles Davis, Paul McCartney, Bjork and Esa-Pekka Solonen are just a few that acknowledge the influence this German composer levied on their music.
He himself studied with a stellar list of teachers: after arriving in Paris in 1952, he worked under Messiaen and Milhaud. Later, he also met John Cage, an encounter that inspired several piano works.
Music of the Spheres: Stockhausen's Fascination with the Atmosphere
Curious listeners should investigate the Helicopter Quartet, a piece of music written for strings and performed in flight, each musician seated in a helicopter. Microphones on both the rotors and on the strings transmit sounds to a control booth on the ground. Mixed with video image from cameras also on the helicopters, the sounds are projected for an audience to enjoy. Pieces of the extravagant composition-protested by environmentalists in Austria-can be viewed on YouTube, a more cost-effective way of enjoying the work than attending a live performance.
The Helicopter Quartet is part of a much larger seven-section cycle Licht (Light), each section named for a day of the week. As part of Wednesday, the quartet arrives at the apex of the work. Taking nearly 25 years to compose, the entire cycle is finally scheduled for its first performance as a full work. The European Centre for the Arts Hellerau in Dresden will stage Licht in 2008, to celebrate Stockhausen's 80th birthday.
But the Helicopter Quartet isn't the only section of Licht that reflects Stockhausen's fascination with the atmosphere. "Outer Space" was fittingly performed at the Amsterdam Planetarium. The overall work serves as a vehicle to promote Stockhausen's later beliefs that he was the center of some epic struggle, claiming to have been born and educated in space.
Also investigate "Gesang der Junglinge" ("Song of the Youths"), which Stockhausen considered to be the beginning of space music.
Sources
"German Composer Stockhausen Dies." Dec. 7, 2007. BBC News.
The Helicopter Quartet. YouTube video.
"Pioneering Composer Karlheinz Stockhausen Dies." Dec. 10, 2007. Los Angeles Times.
Simons, Marlise. "A Helicopter Quartet. What else?" July 31, 1995. New York Times.
"Stockhausen Epic to Debut in 2008." Oct. 12, 2004. BBC News.
"Karlheinz Stockhausen, Influential Composer, Dies at 79." Dec. 8, 2007. New York Times.
Stockhausen Interview. Conducted by Lawrence Pollard. YouTube video.
