Topic: Mauricio Kagel (1931-2008)

[Brewski]

A sad way to begin a thread, but just found out that Mauricio Kagel has died in Germany on Thursday.  A short article is here; I'm trying to find a longer one.

His piece, Der Schall (1968) was one of the first contemporary pieces I ever heard.

--Bruce

[Lethevich]

The only works I've heard by him are two piano trios, which were very fine. Perhaps this could become a rec thread, for those of us who have heard very little...

[Guido]

The only piece I know really is Match for two cellists and percussionist in which the cellists, dressed as tennis players try to out compete each other with virtuoso flourished. The Percussionist acts as umpire. There is not a single note in it that is not in some way inflected or distorted. A fantastic piece, and damned fine comedy too!

[greg]

Nooooooooooooooo       


Here's the two CDs of his that I own:








and the one I've listened to once:






and the one I've read about in a book about extended instrumental techniques, and have watned to listen to:






In short, Kagel is a composer whose music is ALL about imagination. That's what you hear- it makes you go, "Hm!" 
His most accessible works that I know about are the last two String Quartets and "Pan", which has a piccolo along with SQ. (the first uses lots of extended techniques, and I think, rubber bands are even included somehow in the performance, but I can't remember how). He supposedly had a more traditional style later on in life after starting out very experimental.......

[Brewski]

He was highly experimental, one of the most of any composer I know (in terms of the theatrical elements he added to his pieces).  I haven't heard Match--that sounds fantastic.

Thanks to UbuWeb, here are Acustica and Der Schall, available for listening.

--Bruce

[greg]

He was highly experimental, one of the most of any composer I know (in terms of the theatrical elements he added to his pieces).  I haven't heard Match--that sounds fantastic.

Thanks to UbuWeb, here are Acustica and Der Schall, available for listening.

--Bruce

Awesome! I'm putting on Der Schall right away.

[Brewski]

Sorry, forgot to post the link to some of Kagel's films, also on UbuWeb.

--Bruce

[greg]

 

(that's a thanks)

[bwv 1080]

There is a great recording of Music for Renaissance Instruments available free at the www.avantgardeproject.org/

[snyprrr]

I could have sworn I posted on a Kagel Thread recently, but it's not one of these two,...huh,...oh, well.

I got this recording of Kagel's SQ No.4, and,... YES!!,.. it is quite something special, I think. It's on a new cd, with, of all things, Keuris' No.1.



 It's in two mvmts., about 12mins a piece. There is an anonymously folkic quality to this music that does not eschew modern techniques. The second mvmt. begins with the most charming minor key figure, which is then answered in totally avant parodistic fashion. I think I even wanted to negatively prejudge this Sq, but it totally won me over. I was reminded of Kagel's generation of composers, who began to write very profoundly moving music in the last years of their lives (Boucourechliev's SQ No.3, Berio's Notturno). Don't be fooled by my language. I think you will really love this piece. It reminds me a little of Janacek's, or Malipiero's way (especially Janacek, though), of just following one thing with another without any real transition, bap, bap, bap.  It's da shizzle!

[snyprrr]

for the Kagel fans ..

Boy, Naxos getting all the big names now!.

[Pessoa]

My Kagel´s cds:

.Heterophonie/ Improvisation ajoutée....Wergo

.Orchestral works...............................Col Legno

.Mauricio Kagel 2................................Montaigne

.Piano works......................................CPO

.The Arditti SQ Edition.........................Montaigne

[Pessoa]

And Playback Play.....WDR

[7/4]

Kagel is someone I need to investigate.

[EigenUser]

I posted this on the listening thread, but I know it will get swept away in the currents of current listening trends. Has anyone heard of this piece, or heard it? It is called "...den 24.xii.1931" and it is scored for a chamber orchestra with baritone.

It's on YouTube (video performance): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ycBqMOWET0

The melody that gets stuck in my head starts around 3:43 in the video.

December 24th, 1931 (24.xii.1931) is Kagel's birthday. Subtitled "Garbled News", it is a piece for baritone and chamber orchestra where the baritone sings various news clippings (in German) from newspapers published/printed on the day he was born. I'm not a Kagel fan, but I admit that it is nicely done. A lot of stuff was happening then, obviously, from the rise of the Nazis to a major prison revolt in his homeland of Argentina. There is even a Nazi ad for cigarettes in there!

[snyprrr]

String Quartet No.3 (1986-87)

Kagel does the Schnittke thing with a whole lot more chops, imo. This thing a 35min., four mouvement work, very Classical, starting off with some unknown fairytale melody, but with problems- it's "post modern" of course,- there are going to be "problems". Now, there's really nothing scary here, and it's all very well crafted, but, it's not your gramp's Mendelssohn, that's for sure.

I'm looking into his 3 Piano Trios...

Anyhow, love that SQ...

[snyprrr]

tHE kAGEL ptS ARE things all can evjoy.....



update

[snyprrr]

My Kagel´s cds:

.Heterophonie/ Improvisation ajoutée....Wergo

.Orchestral works...............................Col Legno

.Mauricio Kagel 2................................Montaigne

.Piano works......................................CPO

.The Arditti SQ Edition.........................Montaigne

Just went through the discography... it's not as detailed as one might think... besides the Winter&Winter and Disques Montaigne series, there's not all that much from such a varied output.

I'm still championing the 3 Piano Trios as the Absolute Music highpoint right now...




WHAT ABOUT "tACTIL', 'aCOUSTICA', 'eXOTICA'??

[snyprrr]

I really became a huge Kagel fan this year, he's so versatile stylistically and aesthetically but his works is so fun, both the extremely absurd and the serious music. Are there many other Kagel nerds here? 

I keep pushing the 3 Piano Trios, and the CPO disc with 'Serenade', and the String Quartet No.3...

[Mirror Image]

I am more than surprised that the Kagel thread hasn't picked up discussion at all 

Why?