Stockhausen's Spaceship

[James]

Who's playing on that CD?

Missed this one ..

Christoph Caskel on Cycle

Aloys Kontarsky, Karlheinz Stockhausen & Caskel on Refrain

Kontarsky & Caskel on Contacts
Karl Sieben, sound engineering on Contacts
Stockhausen, musical direction & mixdown (4-channel to stereo) on Contacts

[Karl Henning]

I think I'm going to overdose on Stockhausen when I get home, he's been on my mind all day.

Power to you!

[Mandryka]

I think I'm ready to join the official Stockhausen fandom now 

Have you, or anyone, ever played aus dem sieben tagen? Does anyone have a favourite recording of it?

[nathanb]

Watched the Dienstag DVDs tonight.

[James]

Watched the Dienstag DVDs tonight.

The Day of War. Archangel Michael vs. Lucifer. This one is a lot of fun.

How are those DVDs?

[nathanb]

The Day of War. Archangel Michael vs. Lucifer. This one is a lot of fun.

How are those DVDs?

The filming was clearly an afterthought. But it's a historical document, so hey, who cares. The performance was sublime.

[nathanb]

Have you, or anyone, ever played aus dem sieben tagen? Does anyone have a favourite recording of it?

I have not personally performed it but I have listened to each piece several times at least.

I intend to perform and record (non-commercially) pieces from it eventually. My friend (maybe friend*s*) and I want to start a small electro-acoustic ensemble, but alas, I'm probably clocking something like 55-60 hours a week between school and work right now. Only time will tell.

I think Set Sail For The Sun would be sublime with my bowed/slide guitar shenanigans and whatever synthesizers and whatever else my friends and their friends might bring together (none of us being professionals in this field).

[bhodges]

Listening to a bit of Donnerstag aus Licht, live-streamed now from Theater Basel. (They may be archiving the recording - I don't know.) PS, the Sonostream registration is easy and quick.

Definitely worth a look, especially for Stockhausen fans.

https://sonostream.tv/live/donnerstag-aus-licht-2016-10-01

--Bruce

[James]

Listening to a bit of Donnerstag aus Licht, live-streamed now from Theater Basel. (They may be archiving the recording - I don't know.) PS, the Sonostream registration is easy and quick.

Definitely worth a look, especially for Stockhausen fans.

https://sonostream.tv/live/donnerstag-aus-licht-2016-10-01

--Bruce

Thanks! Says "Intermission" right now .. guess I missed the 1st half. 

[bhodges]

Aside from the musical virtues (many), the set design is fantastic. And happy to see a pal, tenor Peter Tantsits, as one of the leads.

Edit: The broadcast will be available for two weeks. Gotta add, Theater Basel is hitting it out of the park with the technical aspects of the production. Outstanding.

--Bruce

[James]

Re-exploring my favorite musician's sacred cantatas (again), but I still keep my eye on articles of recent performances of KS's work, here are a few for the curious ..

Stockhausen's 1959 tape still whispers electronic utterances
The Daily Progress-Nov 1, 2016
Back in 2004, Stuart Gerber met Karlheinz Stockhausen. Two years later, he'd perform the world premiere of "Himmels-Tür," a percussion piece ...

Italian Pianist Thrills Chinese Audience with Lots of Improvisation
Women of China-Oct 30, 2016
Stockhausen then wrote to her and invited her to study with him in ... when she heard Stockhausen's music at a recital by Italian classical pianist Maurizio ...

Stockhausen's 'Carré' revives the genius of the '60s
Los Angeles Times-Aug 20, 2016
A revelatory performance of Karlheinz Stockhausen's 1960 groundbreaking "Carré" on Thursday night was presented here in a converted ...



Pianist Simon Smith finds nuance in Stockhausen's grand vision
The MIT Tech-Sep 21, 2016
Simon Smith remembers vividly his first encounter with the work of Karlheinz Stockhausen. The piece was "Trans," a composition for orchestra ...

Bernstein and Stockhausen in the age of anxiety: How 1950s music feels remarkably prophetic
Los Angeles Times-Jul 18, 2016
Stockhausen winds up creating something shockingly emotional ... the crowd at Boston Court was that of being simultaneously overwhelmed and amazed ...

[Mandryka]

I haven't but I know of it. There is a complete recording on YouTube if you want to taste test it? 

I just saw this reply. You have to remember it is totally improvised and so every performance will be different. It would be great to see a blog of some people involved in preparing a performance.

[nathanb]

Nathan, when you get back (from wherever you went) you need to be my Stockhausen guide again.

I had another Stockhausen moment again, his work captures my imagination and my.inspiration so much, aside from being constantly taken back by how massively otherworldly 'epic' many of his works I've heard are!

Sure thing. I ain't gone, just been a bit busy. About to pass out.

[James]

New book ..

[asin]075465334X[/asin]

Zeitmaße is one of a group of four acknowledged masterpieces composed between 1955 and 1957 that together established Karlheinz Stockhausen as the leading figure in the European avant-garde. Of the four works, it is the only one that has not been thoroughly analysed from the composer's sketches and, for this reason, remains the least-well understood. In this volume, Jerome Kohl provides a much-needed analysis of Zeitmaße, considering its standing in the group and in the wider context of Stockhausen's output. Using recently published correspondence and other documentation from the period, together with surviving sketch material, Kohl investigates the compositional procedures employed in Zeitmaße and their evolution. He discusses the wide range of influences discernible in the work, from that of both past generations of composers and contemporaries, to the impact of Stockhausen's studies in acoustics, phonetics and information theory on his music. The book closes with an examination of the reception of Zeitmaße and its associated concepts in the years following its composition, and shows how the key concepts utilized in the work are themselves a reflection of the properties seen in the very Zeitgeist that produced them.

[Rinaldo]

[Rinaldo]

I live on the other side of the world but I'm gonna try and make an effort to get there, I have to see this once in a lifetime spectacle!

Do that! Holland Festival is worth the trip.

[Rex]

Something very tempting to look forward to in 2 years time!!  At least Pierre Audi gives the impression that he could  brilliantly fulfill Stockhausen's vision, rather than graft a grotesque implant of his own vision on Stockhausen's music.

Unlike the production of Donnerstag in Basel, which I flew to from the other side of the world only to see a production that was so banal and so far removed from Stockhausen's vision, I had to close my eyes to reassure myself that Stockhausen really was the genius I had known for so many years. And sure enough, with my eyes closed, there was that wonderful music!! After watching Michaels Reise in an execrable production that was so removed from Stockhausen's vision, I had to walk out and miss the third act. As I said to my bf as we walked through the beautiful evening air in Basel, Stockhausen's music has unfailingly taken me to places of intellectual beauty. An opening out into greater possibilities. But all I could feel from this production was darkness, claustrophobia and pretension. (Although I have to admit that people I respect have liked that production. I thought it was just hideous!)

If you hadn't already guessed I have no patience for directors who steal a vision of genius from a great composer, and infect it with trivialities and banalities that completely betray the original vision. I find it hard to understand how musicians who strive so hard and successfully to be faithful to the music a composer wrote, can be part of a production that is utterly historically inaccurate.

LOL - it's late at night and I have obviously let one of my demons out of the bottle!

Here's to Suzanne Stephens, Kathinka Pasveer and Pierre Audi, and a host of other great musicians and artists making something truly wonderful in Holland in 2019. I know if I can make it I will be there!

[Rex]

There is a short video of fragments of a beautiful performance of Stimmung by Nordic Voices on Youtube.

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

The performance was in the Emanuel Vigeland Mausoleum in Oslo, which has a strong and long reverberation. My first impression was this would be damaging to the music. But in fact it creates a wonderful aura around the music.
Most of all - the performance is superb! If a video of this were released I would certainly be buying it!
The clip also includes some discussion with Christel Stockhausen, who seems quite moved by the performance   
Wonderful.

[nathanb]

Especially directed at Nathanb but here is something interesting for you Stockhausen fans to think about:

I'm surprised I didn't realise it earlier but I've just had a mindblowing realisation that Stockhausen's Licht alone is longer than Xenakis' (not that they're actually similar composers) ENTIRE output!!!     

How is that for a prolific composer!
I'm not sure how long JS Bach's output totals in time but Xenakis' output is roughly 26/27 hours long, Licht is the infamous 29/30 hours, then Stockhausen has a whole catalogue outside of the Licht cycle....

Current amount of Stockhausen on my iPod: 5:00:22:48 (Or >120 hours)

[kishnevi]

Especially directed at Nathanb but here is something interesting for you Stockhausen fans to think about:

I'm surprised I didn't realise it earlier but I've just had a mindblowing realisation that Stockhausen's Licht alone is longer than Xenakis' (not that they're actually similar composers) ENTIRE output!!!     

How is that for a prolific composer!
I'm not sure how long JS Bach's output totals in time but Xenakis' output is roughly 26/27 hours long, Licht is the infamous 29/30 hours, then Stockhausen has a whole catalogue outside of the Licht cycle....

Hmm.  The Complete Bach sets range between 150 and 170 CDs. Posit an average running time of an hour per CD gives you 150+ hours. But it's not a fair comparison to either JBS or KHS.

Bach wrote his music mostly for immediate performance without expecting it to be performed more than once or twice, freely recycled material, adapted works by other composers, arranged a huge number of chorales for organ and for four part chorus from pre-existing material, wrote his church music to fit the requirements of the church service and his employers, etc.  Most important, we know we don't have everything he wrote, but can't be sure what is missing.

Most of that is not relevant to Stockhausen's situation. How much of the 120 hours Nathanb has on his Ipod consists of reworkings for varying combinations of instruments?