Karlheinz Stockhausen (1928-2007) 4-9 Jan

[EdgeleyRob]

Hymnen and Stimmung I have hugely appreciated - real genius, and I stayed with Hymnen to the end - my first hearing.
BUT
quite a lot of the other stuff I thought mannered, lacking editing, and some frankly silly.

I think this where I am with Stockhausen,didn't find anything silly.
I didn't last until the end of Hymnen.
Appreciated but not really enjoyed.
Fascinating programmes this week though.

[french frank]

I woke up at 4am this morning and remembered that I'd missed Tuesday's and Wednesday's CotW so I fetched my laptop and went back to bed to listen to both progs. Certainly the ideal way to concentrate: lying in the dark listening More interesting than the first one (Monday).

[Beresford]

I thought Friday's episode was very good, and I appreciated Robert Worby's heartfelt comments. Considering that Boulez thought Stockhausen to be the greatest 20th century composer, the only one better than him, it's surprising how little comment there has been on these pages. Perhaps it has all been said before.
I keep finding more that is innovative and poignant in Stockhausen's music, but I still don't know if it is a goldmine or a minefield.

[Beef Oven!]

Tuesday and Friday's were best, IMV.

[umslopogaas]

There seem to be difficulties in obtaining CDs of Stockhausen's music at present. According to my 2001 edition of The Rough Guide To Classical Music, the CDs are only obtainable from Stockhausen-Verlag at an address in Kurten, Germany. However when my local hifi shop tried to access this to purchase me a 4CD set of one of his works, they failed to make contact, and the only hope seems to be to find a secondhand copy on ebay, or somewhere.

Incidentally a word of warning to Stockhausen enthusiasts, the complete Stockhausen edition consists not only of all his own works, but all the works of other composers that he conducted. That's a lot of CDs and would set you back at least a thousand quid, if you could find a set for sale.

[Quarky]

There seem to be difficulties in obtaining CDs of Stockhausen's music at present. According to my 2001 edition of The Rough Guide To Classical Music, the CDs are only obtainable from Stockhausen-Verlag at an address in Kurten, Germany. However when my local hifi shop tried to access this to purchase me a 4CD set of one of his works, they failed to make contact, and the only hope seems to be to find a secondhand copy on ebay, or somewhere.

Incidentally a word of warning to Stockhausen enthusiasts, the complete Stockhausen edition consists not only of all his own works, but all the works of other composers that he conducted. That's a lot of CDs and would set you back at least a thousand quid, if you could find a set for sale.

It appears possible to buy direct over the internet with PayPal or Debit Card:

http://stockhausencds.com/

[umslopogaas]

Many thanks Oddball, I'll get the hifi shop on the case when they reopen on Tuesday.

[Richard Barrett]

the complete Stockhausen edition consists not only of all his own works, but all the works of other composers that he conducted.

The latter category however consists of one CD only, containing the Haydn Trumpet Concerto and Mozart Clarinet Concerto, both with cadenzas by Stockhausen - a very minor part of his output!

The edition consists of previously-issued material, mostly by Deutsche Grammophon, up to the mid-1980s, after which Stockhausen, despairing of DG's unwillingness to re-release everything on CD, took on the task himself, adding more material (primarily from radio recordings) until currently it's almost a complete survey of his work, and no doubt the Stockhausen Foundation is working on eventually completing it.

[Richard Barrett]

Now spinning: the films of Stockhausen's seven lectures given at the ICA in early 1972. I first watched the last one, dealing with Mantra, a few weeks ago when preparing to give a talk on that piece; and today while working I thought I'd put on the first (on "musical forming") and I'm now some way into the second (on Mikrophonie I). Now I know all of this music very well and have done for many years and while at one time I would have given a lot to have seen these films, I've been aware of them being on Youtube for a while without thinking I should urgently watch them. However I'm getting a lot out of it, and I think many others would too. He is speaking for a general audience so there's nothing arcanely technical, and takes the time to explain everything in simple and clear terms while at the same time expressing a compulsive fascination with the musical phenomena he's talking about in a way I've always found very attractive. Something that
strikes me is that very few composers talk like this nowadays, preferring to get lost in details, or obscurity, or trivia, rather than setting out an all-embracing and yet coherent musical world as Stockhausen does here. From my description you'll know whether this is the kind of thing you're interested in, but I do recommend it to those who might be wondering what his music is all about, as well as those who appreciate now and again a reminder of what a visionary approach to music looks and sounds like.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Just for a moment I thought there was going to be a broadcast of Momente to start the New Year.

But you're absolutely right: they are wonderfully illustrative and entertaining talks and available on youtube -

Talk One, Musical Forming:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYmMXB0e17E

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMsPzuP8sXU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMvpb8b06H4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMDvbwBG6JU

Talk 2, MICROPHONIE I (Live Electronic Music):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMDvbwBG6JU

Talk 3, Moment-Forming and Integration (MOMENTE):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFvynwLkGco

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9FBaTDKHv-c

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lh4GJkdUDlM

Talk 4, Intuitive Music:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywx49Qf5bW4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yq3rbK1f7Fc

Talk 5, Four Criteria of Electronic Music (KONTAKTE):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xyGtI7KKIY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZzDhg-MoHlo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgQmGu93-F4

Talk 6, TELEMUSIK:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odbvoUqq3EA

Talk 7, MANTRA:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8K9gkuHpMo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QASwHLZ_fBE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHmcJgJiVe8

[Serial_Apologist]

Wonderful wonderful wonderful!

Thanks ever so much for providing the links, ferney, and Richard for drawing this to our attention.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Wonderful wonderful wonderful!

- I think I've just sorted out my "No Hear & Now, but a repeat of the LNotP" disgruntle for tomorrow.

[Beef Oven!]

RB, thanks very much indeed for a very good steer on this.

ferney, the links are very much appreciated

[Richard Barrett]

I've just finished listening through them all (not actually watching the video very much due to having to work simultaneously on the same computer screen!). I guess that for some interested parties the amount of material might seem a bit daunting. I would recommend starting with the first and most general one, and following this with the last one, on Mantra. From there the talks on Momente and Mikrophonie I in that order would be a good continuation. (I learned a great deal about Momente that I didn't already know, which sent me off to listen again and increased my appreciation of the work considerably.) The "Four Criteria of Electronic Music" seems a bit dated now that almost all electronic music is made with computers; the Telemusik talk is largely about Stockhausen's experiences of Japanese culture and how inspiring he found them; and the "intuitive music" talk is for me the least essential.

[DaisyDog]

Too much, too much...

I switched off. Too much Schoenberg and Tom Service for me. Not a happy mix. And not ideal daytime music for us homebodies. Especially TS's dreadful trailers repeated ad nauseam. Oh well, it’s back to Mozart CD's for a while.