Added my newest article on the Helicopter String Quartet.
Sound Impressions
I've always liked this piece for its vitality. The fast tremolos are pretty fascinating as they attempt to blend with the helicopter rotor noises, and the rotor noises themselves are interesting to listen to. I wondered if it might have been nice to have the "real sound" tracks of the helicopters in isolation as a bonus, as Stockhausen has done for the electronic parts of many other works (SIRIUS, OKTOPHONIE, etc...) but I suppose since the score does not have actual flight instructions it would be confusing to call it a "Stockhausen composition."
I'm not sure if this is a good or bad thing but because of the constant micro-tonal glissing I never really feel like I'm hearing the LICHT formula. I suppose that's a testimony to the adaptability of the formula to different compositional permutations. However I wish I had felt more of a sense of structural change during the flight phase. Based on the timings it appears that the 2nd cycle is generally a slower tempo than the 1st and 3rd cycles but because of the fast tremolo playing it all seems pretty consistent, for better or worse.
In any case, this is a deep listen for it's subtle differences, and while watching a video of the performance one gets the feeling of being at a NASA space launch as much as at a chamber music recital, which even alone is quite an achievement. This is probably Stockhausen's most famous work of the last 30 years and is also probably the only one of his records to be sold at Walmart. (
http://www.walmart.com/ip/29122099)
My analysis here:
http://stockhausenspace.blogspot.com/2014/06/opus-69-helikopter-streichquartett.htmlIf you don't already like the piece, it probably won't change your mind. It is what it is...