Pioneers of electronic music #1: Karlheinz Stockhausen

Pioneers of electronic music #1: Karlheinz Stockhausen

4 January, 2008 | 12.01PM

• Written by: culprit1
• Filed under: Music News: karlheinz stockhausen, minimalism, pioneers of electronic music, stockhausen

We thought it apt to begin Beatportal’s Pioneers of Electronic Music series with an introduction to the legendary German composer Karlheinz Stockhausen, who sadly passed away aged 79 on December 5th 2007.

The man often claimed that he was born and educated on the distant star Sirius, so goodness knows where he is now.

A huge influence on a wide range of musicians, Stockhausen has received props from the likes of Frank Zappa, Kraftwerk, Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, Pink Floyd, Sonic Youth, Bjork and The Beatles (even appearing on the famous cover of their ‘Sgt. Pepper’ album).

His musical impact has also been acknowledged by leading jazz musicians such as Miles Davis and Herbie Hancock.

Stockhausen’s influence on popular music is not surprising, given that he was one of the first composers to focus primarily on sounds and “soundworlds” as the first point of composition, rather than the more traditional approach of simply utilising established orchestral instruments, notes and scores.

He even spoke of dreaming up sounds and performances in his sleep.

The life of Stockhausen

Born near Cologne in 1928, the young Stockhausen endured a hellish childhood that included a stint as a stretcher-bearer towards the end of World War 2.

By the end of the war in 1945 (aged just 17), he had lost his mother, father and younger brother.

Following musical study in his native country he progressed to Paris, where he received tuition from Olivier Messiaen and Darius Milhaud.

Stockhausen became a renowned teacher himself, lecturing around the world and becoming a guest professor at several American universities.

The work of Stockhausen

Stockhausen left the world with an incredible body of musical work, encompassing hundreds of genre-defying compositions.

Many of these are purely electronic, such as the early ‘Electronic Studies 1 & 2’ (1953 & 1954), the national anthem-warping ‘Hymnen’ (1966-67) and the truly epic ‘Telemusik’ (1968).

Other works seamlessly combine electronics with live instruments, notably ‘Gesang der Jünglinge’ (1955-56), ‘Kontakte’ (1958-60) and ‘Mixtur’ (1964/67/2003).

Considering the clunky technology and cumbersome editing equipment available at the time, Stockhausen’s music becomes all the more astounding when listened to today.

He continued composing until his death late last year.

Relatively recent works included the seven day opera cycle ‘Licht’ (1977-2003) and the truly bizarre ‘Helicopter String Quartet’ (1993), in which the performers fly around outside the concert venue in four different helicopters, with the scenes relayed back to the audience through a live video stream.

To discover more about this extraordinary pioneer, check out the links below.

In this text from The Wire magazine’s ‘Advice to Clever Children’ article (1995), Stockhausen dishes out musical advice to Aphex Twin, Scanner and Richie Hawtin. Aphex’s reaction is comedy gold.

This rare Stockhausen interview with Lawrence Pollard, features excerpts from ‘Helicopter String Quartet’, rehearsal footage and an extremely amusing reaction to the journalist’s opening question.

Comprehensive information and media can be found on the official Stockhausen Foundation website.

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