About
Born in a small village outside of Cologne, Germany, in 1928, Karlheinz
Stockhausen became a giant of 20th century composition. His prolific
catalog includes 35 works for orchestra, 46 for choir and 200 works of
electronic music, while his life and influence encompassed several
progressive musical movements, including total serialism, electronic
music, spatial music, chance music and even world music. He spent his
early career studying the serial techniques of Schoenberg and Webern,
taking them to unexplored regions in works such as Kontra-Punkte
and Kreuzspiel. In 1953, the composer began working in West
German Radio's Studio for Electronic Music, a tenure that lasted until
1998. Pieces from this period, the haunting Kontakte and his
groundbreaking spatial composition, Gesang Der Junglinge, had
immeasurable influence on the Avant-Garde, and are perhaps his most
enduring concepts.
By the late 1960s, Stockhausen's vision had exploded into the cosmos.
His work became increasingly expansive as he struggled to find sonic
material worthy of his extraordinary ambitions. Elaborate staging and
choreography became an integral part of works such as Inori and
Sirius, but these were a prelude to what became his masterpiece:
the seven-part opera cycle entitled Licht. Composed between 1977
and 2004, it is enormous in its narrative scope, spanning history from
the birth of the universe to the final stages of man's evolution;
indeed, it is 29 hours long. Shortly after its completion, a new song
cycle, Klang, based on the 24 hours of the day, began to take
shape. He would only compose a fraction of the "days," however, before
his death in December of 2007. In a letter written in early 2006
Stockhausen speculated on the direction of his new work. "It seems that
each hour contains the spiral of the 24 hours of the day, and that the
contents of the hours concern all of us. (It is recommended to ensure
your entry to a heaven's door already now)."
- Nate Baker
- Portions of Album Content Provided by All Music Guide © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC.