Stockhausen's Spaceship

[You did it]

Even though I have periods where I'm less interested in Stockhausen (as with every composer), I can confirm that it is impossible to wear out Gruppen (same with his other best masterpieces) 

More than any other Stockhausen piece, I constantly discover new things in it that freak me out (both as a listener and from the score itself). I love Gruppen so much 

[Karl Henning]

Stockhausen in Atlanta

[Cato]

Stockhausen in Atlanta

"Knock, knock, knockin' on Heaven's door!"  0:)

Nice review!

[Cato]

Here is a YouTube performance with Stuart Gerber (mentioned in the above review):

https://www.youtube.com/v/dTvlVJJZ-oo

[chadfeldheimer]

Stockhausen is a main topic at the Musikfest Hamburg currently taking place. There are performances of Stimmung, Tierkreis, parts of "Donnerstag aus Licht", parts of Klang etc.

Yesterday I attended a 4-channel performance of Hymnen. It was the purely electronic version, without soloists or orchestra. So the visual appeal was limited to watching Stockhausens longtime assistant Kathinka Pasveer fine-tuning the sound. Acoustically however it was quite an experience. The 4 speakers (1 for each channel) surrounding the audience created a 3 dimensional audio space with sounds wandering or jumping from one corner to the other. This and the crystal clear, if a bit shrill sound representation shelled out many details of the incredibly dense piece I didn't recognize before, even when using headphones.

Again I realized how diverting the piece is. IMO there are no boring passages, which is quite remarkable for a piece clocking above 2 hours. I just love the brilliantly playful and humorous deconstruction of national hymns and nothing short of psychedelic passages, especially in the last quarter (region) of the piece.

Still some people left before ending, but Stockhausen as we know from the GMG forum ;-) is not for everybody, especially if as noisy as in Hymnen. After the ending of the piece one women even said loud enough to be audible for everyone "Das reicht jetzt aber auch" (roughly translated "I'm glad that it is over") reaping a severe look by Kathinka Pasveer (rightly so IMO). But the largest part of the audience enjoyed the performance and the applause was loud and long.

Would love to see a performace of Hymnen with soloists next time, which is my favorite version of the piece.

[ComposerOfAvantGarde]

Sounds like a wonderful experience! Stockhausen seems to be someone considered a 'standard famous composer' (what other composer can draw crowds of more than a million people in their day?) and finding his music not enjoyable is probably an experience of a minority of people currently active on GMG......however I wouldn't be surprised if people simply have some level of apathy, just as much as what we might consider the music of Gluck. And I suspect more people would rather listen to Stockhausen than Gluck but I could be wrong.

I agree that Hymnen is so well paced that it captures the attention of those even slightly interested and holds it with a firm grasp throughout its entire duration. Not many pieces of that length do that, so that's certainly a testament to Stockhausen's craft.

[chadfeldheimer]

Sounds like a wonderful experience! Stockhausen seems to be someone considered a 'standard famous composer' (what other composer can draw crowds of more than a million people in their day?) and finding his music not enjoyable is probably an experience of a minority of people currently active on GMG......however I wouldn't be surprised if people simply have some level of apathy, just as much as what we might consider the music of Gluck. And I suspect more people would rather listen to Stockhausen than Gluck but I could be wrong.

Agree regarding the apathy of some people. Also there seemed to be some that didn't know Stockhausens music or at least his electronic music and hence were simply overchallenged. But there was also this guy sitting beside me, oviously having more of a rock even punk background (the audience in general was very varied), who did not know Stockhausen and was only there because a friend persuaded him. This guy was enthusiastic afterwards. I assume being accostomed to the sounds and studio-effects of modern, edgier pop-/rock-music helps understanding the sound language of Stockhausens electronic pieces.

[Karl Henning]

I now understand your Profile Pic.  And I hope my shit is secure!

[chadfeldheimer]

I now understand your Profile Pic.  And I hope my shit is secure!

:-)
Don't worry! You just have to transfer a small "security fee" onto a certain swiss bank account and your shit is secure ;-)

[Mahlerian]

Sounds like a wonderful experience! Stockhausen seems to be someone considered a 'standard famous composer' (what other composer can draw crowds of more than a million people in their day?) and finding his music not enjoyable is probably an experience of a minority of people currently active on GMG......however I wouldn't be surprised if people simply have some level of apathy, just as much as what we might consider the music of Gluck. And I suspect more people would rather listen to Stockhausen than Gluck but I could be wrong.

I'm convinced that Stockhausen shot himself in the foot by making recordings of his music so difficult (and expensive) to acquire.  Those Stockhausen official CDs look and sound great, I'm sure, but it's just a huge expenditure for normal people, let alone poor students.

[Karl Henning]

I'm convinced that Stockhausen shot himself in the foot by making recordings of his music so difficult (and expensive) to acquire.  Those Stockhausen official CDs look and sound great, I'm sure, but it's just a huge expenditure for normal people, let alone poor students.

That, and his extraterrestrial psychosis.  The two most likely responses are either fandom, or indifference.

[North Star]

I'm convinced that Stockhausen shot himself in the foot by making recordings of his music so difficult (and expensive) to acquire.  Those Stockhausen official CDs look and sound great, I'm sure, but it's just a huge expenditure for normal people, let alone poor students.

That, and his extraterrestrial psychosis.  The two most likely responses are either fandom, or indifference.

Well, it's only fitting that his music should be astronomically priced...

[ComposerOfAvantGarde]

Agree regarding the apathy of some people. Also there seemed to be some that didn't know Stockhausens music or at least his electronic music and hence were simply overchallenged. But there was also this guy sitting beside me, oviously having more of a rock even punk background (the audience in general was very varied), who did not know Stockhausen and was only there because a friend persuaded him. This guy was enthusiastic afterwards. I assume being accostomed to the sounds and studio-effects of modern, edgier pop-/rock-music helps understanding the sound language of Stockhausens electronic pieces.

Sounds unsurprising to me. Music production and the immediate resultant sounds in many pop/rock/metal styles is an extremely sophisticated thing that classical music rarely comes close to achieving that level of sophistication. Of course, it does have roots in Stockhausen anyway.

[ComposerOfAvantGarde]

I'm convinced that Stockhausen shot himself in the foot by making recordings of his music so difficult (and expensive) to acquire.  Those Stockhausen official CDs look and sound great, I'm sure, but it's just a huge expenditure for normal people, let alone poor students.

True. Could always request CDs from university libraries.

[Mahlerian]

True. Could always request CDs from university libraries.

Many won't lend anything to people who aren't directly affiliated.  Harvard is that way, for example.

[ComposerOfAvantGarde]

Many won't lend anything to people who aren't directly affiliated.  Harvard is that way, for example.

For students, I mean.

[chadfeldheimer]

I'm convinced that Stockhausen shot himself in the foot by making recordings of his music so difficult (and expensive) to acquire.  Those Stockhausen official CDs look and sound great, I'm sure, but it's just a huge expenditure for normal people, let alone poor students.

Actually the prices at the Stockhausen Verlag aren't that high. Most single CDs cost 23€ and they come with (as already stated) beautifully designed booklets much more extensive than at usual CDs which also often cost 18€ and above. So at least for the EU I would say the prices are quite reasonable. For customers in the US it might be different due to higher shipping rates or duties, I don't know.

Regarding the accessibility of Stockhausen recordings for music students or younger music lovers in general, I would say that today most young people aren't getting to know new music via CD but via streaming. And the Stockhausen-Verlag or Kathinka Pasveer is wise enough to not tackle against unauthorized streaming e.g. on Youtube. Consequently you can find there many if not most Stockhausen-Verlag recordings.     

[ComposerOfAvantGarde]

Actually the prices at the Stockhausen Verlag aren't that high. Most single CDs cost 23€ and they come with (as already stated) beautifully designed booklets much more extensive than at usual CDs which also often cost 18€ and above. So at least for the EU I would say the prices are quite reasonable. For customers in the US it might be different due to higher shipping rates or duties, I don't know.

Regarding the accessibility of Stockhausen recordings for music students or younger music lovers in general, I would say that today most young people aren't getting to know new music via CD but via streaming. And the Stockhausen-Verlag or Kathinka Pasveer is wise enough to not tackle against unauthorized streaming e.g. on Youtube. Consequently you can find there many if not most Stockhausen-Verlag recordings.     

In some countries there are authorised YouTube streaming services where the record labels are paid per view. If this is opened up globally it might be financially more viable for them and allow them to even lower the price of their physical CDs when they analyse their market.

[chadfeldheimer]

In some countries there are authorised YouTube streaming services where the record labels are paid per view. If this is opened up globally it might be financially more viable for them and allow them to even lower the price of their physical CDs when they analyse their market.

That sounds like a good idea. Also Spotify comes to mind. I wonder if the Verlag thought about this.

[Mandryka]

Can someone please tell me whether the booklet in this fascinating recording has interesting ideas in it?