Topic: Stockhausen's Spaceship

[petrarch]

Nah. To be completely honest with you, I heard Cage immediately .. but I don't hear 'much music' unfortunately. It's much,  much easier  to absorb in comparison. It's skimpier on a musical & compositional level. Cage was an ideas man minus the focus, depth & rigour of a real musician/composer. There is a lot more to Boulez & especially Stockhausen ..

We've been there before, and I won't go into that discussion again.

[snyprrr]

Is this what an AA meeting at GMG sounds like?

[snyprrr]

What about it, makes you have such a definite conclusion? Just curious.

I DID listen again to Telemusik, and I just can't get into it. All the Eastern influence, and any supposed underlying-ness just doesn't get me beyond the 'This Is Getting On My Nerves' phase,... I know I can't tell where or when I heard this piece, but it was over the course of my years, in all its component sounds,... I mean, I'm sorry, but I think it's a conceit to speak of these Asian drums when, really, you hear a thud (and not a particularly personable one),... or, any of the myriad sounds,... frankly, it was creepy, and made me think of KS at Polanski's for a bloodletting. It's probably his Catholicism that I'm reacting against. When it comes to this type of stuff, forgive me LORD Jesus, but I seem to rather prefer the 'atheist' Xenakis ethos of E/A, but,...

we are just talking about Telemusik. I like Hymnen much better, for what it's worth. I just don't like his 'hardcore' approach. I always sense the luciferian in his music, especially in Telemusik.

And I listened again to Punkt, which I place after BAZ, as the darkest traditiona; 'Viennese' work I've ever heard. Those opening 'trawling' sounds are just so creepy to me. I love the wah wah trumpet at @16 minutes, and I think there's a car horn too, right?,... lots of really interesting sounds.

[Scion7]

" What, you may ask, is the point of boiling down to two channels (and four walls) a work for five groups of four musicians placed as satellites to a central percussionist, and intended for performance in the open air during warm summer weather, under a clear, starry sky, preferably at a time of full moon? "

Ha ha ha.

[k a rl h e nn i ng]

Is this what an AA meeting at GMG sounds like?

(* chortle *)

[Leon]

If anyone lives in the Boston area, they can hear Oktophonie live in 8-channel reproduction (fascinating!) this coming Saturday at Harvard University at 11 pm (yes, that's right, 11 pm).

This is the kind of concert that would definitely get me out of the house. 

I've been reading the early pages of this thread and miss the contributions of the posters like Al Moritz and gomro, but do commend you, James, for your posts.  Stockhausen is a difficult composer, no doubt, and one that many otherwise huge classical music fans find incomprehensible, and as a consequence react with contempt and ridicule.  I understand that.

I first got into his music back in the '60s with a recording of the piano works recorded on DG by Alois Kontarsky, and went on to get as much of his music as I could.  Stimmung was a work I used to listen to a lot.  But, I lost interest in his music after a while and only recently been delving into it again.  I recently acquired all the parts of Licht, and find it fascinating but overlong. 

I am of the opinion that his music is best heard in the theater which is why the announcement of the performance in the above quote caught my attention from the earlier pages.

Carry on, James, and maybe Al and gomro might return to enliven the thread. 

 

[snyprrr]

I would love to piggy back on someone's Verlag purchase. I could Paypal you ...

[snyprrr]

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/BfRknDawEEg" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/BfRknDawEEg</a>

Karlheinz Stockhausen - Mikrophonie I
for tam-tam played by two percussionists, two microphonists, two sound projectionists
Strasbourg, Champs Libres Festival, June 1st 2007
Ensemble Linea
Michael Pattmann, percussionist
Asuka Hatanaka, percussionist
Vincent Roth, microphonist
Thomas Mond, microphonist
Jean-Philippe Wurtz, sound projectionist
Bernd Schultheis, sound projectionist

That did not help after my Rant in the other Thread.

Perhaps some things should just die, or be put down, and four people wrestling with a gong would be at the top of my list. I agree that it HAD to be done at the time, but,... but...

I do think The Trickster has been amongst us, and the emperor wears no clothes.


Also, just to be fair, the falling minor second, denoting pathos, maybe should also be banned?

[snyprrr]

Still bitter I see. (seems you need to get some dude)

SOME!how I'd like to incorporate this into the Whole Discussion. We KNOW Liszt was. We KNOW Brahms wasn't (right?,... though COME ON, he WAS almost just as strikingly handsome as Liszt, so,... huh??,... I'm saying, He COULD have if he wanted,... so, yea, not the same problem, bwahaha).

To be sure, if it's THAT obvious, then, I have a New Question:




...mm...




... gimme a minute...





yea,... whew,... y'know,... you RIGHT!, and I have no idea WHICH smiley face to put after that ,... oy oy oy...

haha, yea, you ARE right,... I AM sure that I would hear Mikrophonie I in a completely different light, haha

you :'(have :'(no :'(idea

mm


mm


mm


I'm gonna go sit in the corner for a minute ...

[snyprrr]

According to Steve Schick ..

"red fish blue fish is about to release a DVD of the early percussion music of Stockhausen."

on MODE .. which will include Mikrophonie

http://laist.com/2012/06/06/classical_pick_of_the_week_steven_s.php
http://www.moderecords.com/profiles/steveschick.html

OK, I'll give that crew the benefit of the doubt. That should certainly be interesting.

[snyprrr]

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/gtYAw12dzKY" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/gtYAw12dzKY</a>

Erwachen l Awakening (2007)
für Violoncello, Trumpete und Sopransaxophon.
12. Stunde aus KLANG.

Just before the fourth main section of this trio the performers
speak in unison the words "Erwachen in Gott" (Awakening in God)

Hour 6 to 12 from KLANG are all based on material from the 5th Hour, Harmonien.

Dirk Wietheger - violincello
Marco Blaauw - trumpet
Marcus Weiss - soprano saxophone

I just sampled a few places, and hey, this is the kind of stuff I'd like by KS! This and the String Trio are the best (and by 'best' I mean...) I've heard,... and I do like the piece for 2 harps. I really liked this one though! ,... reminds me of Mozart's outdoor's type music (but not sounding like it),... I can see this as legit 'space alien uber race' music,... very Classical.

[snyprrr]

He certainly knew his Mozart/Haydn well, you can hear this in the various Lichtwerke & even in Klang which is a distillation of things in many ways.

You'll probably really enjoy that album then (see below), and you should check out opus numbers 86-90 .. to see all of what he does with the 5th Hour's musical material.

And you might dig the various Saturday Lucifer Wind Dances, or even the Bassetsu-Trio.

There is a playfulness, humour, lightness of touch and refined classical clarity to much of Stockhausen's late work.
Not to mention a very uplifting, joyful, devotional, spiritual like aura. You always get the sense he's having lots of fun.



http://www.stockhausencds.com/Stockhausen_Edition_CD90.htm

Why do I keep making the connection to Goeyvaarts with Late KS? I have an unsubstantiated theory that Late KS sounds 'Dutch', whatever that means. Listen to Goeyvaarts String Quartet music (Megadisc Classics) and see if you hear KS there,... in any case, I'm 'using' the Goeyvaarts SQs as KS music, so, well,...

[snyprrr]

I don't hear that connection. Stockhausen drew from the widest possible resources .. but his music could only have been written by a German, through & through.

It's just that the KS String Trio, and this last Trio, reminded me of nothing else I've heard, other than that disc of KG SQs. Surely KG's music is a lot less 'free' than the KS pieces you've provided, but there is still the concern with, what I'll call, 'elegant design'. The effect, to my ears, is 'pleasing',... as opposed to the more confrontational music of the '60s-'70s,... both the Late KS and KG sound fairly 'normal' to me, like the Mozart (that I guess we're agreeing on), but without the same scales, and rhythms. Still, it seems to me that this music is very,... hate to use the overused term... 'communicative',... as in the word 'commune',... hence, KS sounding to me like 'galactic Bach (or Mozart)'. I thought the Goeyvaarts had the same basic feeling, though, admittedly, much more land locked than the much freer flying Stockhausen.

[Brewski]

The time is drawing nigh for the New York Philharmonic's two performances of Gruppen (part of a very intelligently planned program), June 29-30, and it looks like it's selling well - info here.

--Bruce

[Brewski]

And more to look forward to this fall, as part of Lincoln Center's White Light Festival:

Tuesday, October 30, 2012, 7:30
Alice Tully Hall

"Cosmic Pulses"
Analog Arts
Stuart Gerber, percussion
Joe Drew, sound projection

Stockhausen: Friday Greeting (New York premiere)
Stockhausen: Heaven’s Door (New York premiere)
Stockhausen: Cosmic Pulses

--Bruce

[k a rl h e nn i ng]

The time is drawing nigh for the New York Philharmonic's two performances of Gruppen (part of a very intelligently planned program), June 29-30, and it looks like it's selling well - info here.

Gosh, Bruce, if I weren't going to see Dweezil in Rhode Island on the 30^th . . . .

[petrarch]

And more to look forward to this fall, as part of Lincoln Center's White Light Festival:

Tuesday, October 30, 2012, 7:30
Alice Tully Hall

Stockhausen: Friday Greeting (New York premiere)
Stockhausen: Heaven’s Door (New York premiere)
Stockhausen: Cosmic Pulses

Cool stuff, will try to be there. Cosmic Pulses live is probably the only way to truly enjoy it, and Friday Greeting is my favorite part from Freitag. Heaven’s Door is a good bonus.

[MDL]

WORLD PREMIERE
MITTWOCH AUS LICHT / WEDNESDAY FROM LIGHT
The day of reconciliation and collaboration

MITTWOCH / WEDNESDAY.
An opera by Karlheinz Stockhausen
A commission for the London 2012 Festival, produced by Birmingham Opera Company
August 22nd, 23rd, 24th 25th 2012 at 4pm
Argyle Works, Great Barr Street, Birmingham B9 4EX

Graham Vick will direct the world premiere of Karlheinz Stockhausen’s opera Mittwoch aus Licht for Birmingham Opera Company. Comprising a string quartet performing in helicopters, electronic and acoustic music and a dancing camel, this will be the first time the opera, often thought to be unstageable, has been performed in its entirety.

In August 2012 Mittwoch aus Licht/Wednesday from Light finally hits the stage – or rather a former chemical works in the middle of Birmingham. Internationally acclaimed opera director Graham Vick has assembled an outstanding artistic team with his unique Birmingham Opera Company featuring some 150 performers.

Under the musical direction of Stockhausen’s long-time collaborator, Kathinka Pasveer the line-up includes Birmingham’s Ex Cathedra and London Voices with an array of virtuoso orchestral soloists as well as local performers recruited and trained through the company’s award-winning participation programme. Radio 1 DJ Nihal will act as Moderator.

This landmark event will take place in the extraordinary Argyle Works, a former chemical plant and venue for Birmingham Opera Company’s production of Verdi’s Othello.

Of his monumental achievement Licht, (Light) a cycle of 7 operas, one for each day of the week, Mittwoch (Wednesday) is the only part of the cycle that Stockhausen never saw staged.

“We have individual scenes from Mittwoch aus Licht in very good concert performances. But all attempts to stage Mittwoch aus Licht have not been successful. I do not want the opera performance to be incomplete” -Stockhausen

Even 5 years after his death, the challenge and scale of the piece, in six parts including the Helicopter String Quartet and featuring two choirs, solo instrumentalists, live electronic and acoustic music and a dancing camel, means the piece still awaits its premiere - that is until 22nd August in Birmingham.

Stockhausen: a revolutionary figure in 20th century music. His innovation moved composition into new territory embracing the new technology of electronic music and breaking the barriers between musical genres. His influence permeated pop, rock and electronic music through artists such as Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, The Beatles and, more recently, Björk. His appeal to a very broad young audience sells out the Royal Albert Hall and the Barbican as well as large concert halls in Europe, America and the Pacific Rim.

World Premiere of Mittwoch aus Licht

Booking for Mittwoch / Wednesday

So is anyone going to this? I'm in two minds. I love Thursday, but hearing the whole of Friday in the Barbican almost a decade ago was fairly dispiriting. I've never seen such a depressed, bored looking audience leaving a concert.

[petrarch]

So is anyone going to this? I'm in two minds. I love Thursday, but hearing the whole of Friday in the Barbican almost a decade ago was fairly dispiriting. I've never seen such a depressed, bored looking audience leaving a concert.

The differences between Wednesday, Thursday and Friday suggest it should be worthwhile (I can imagine how Friday in full could be boring). Wednesday is my favorite of the Licht cycle, so if I were in the UK I would definitely go.

[MDL]

I doubt anyone from this board will be going ..  are you going, you live there right?

I'm in London, not Birmingham, so travel and hotel costs are another issue...

Still, it's a once-in-a-lifetime (probably) opportunity.