Spectralmusic

This man was a giant who graced the early last century, he was highly prolific, ambitious and innovative and composed some of the most spacious, grand, emotive music probably ever written.


I've been listening to the Licht Cycle quite often lately, it's soooo good!


Some of my favorite works from Stockhausen are:


Luzifer's Tanz (from Samstag Aus Licht)
Gruppen
Carre
Inori
The whole Klavierstucke cycle (favorites being #1 and #8)
Lichter Wasser (from Sonntag Aus Licht)
Hymen
Tierkreis
Zeitmasse
Cosmic Pulses
Mantra
Orchester Finalisten (from Mittwoch Aus Licht)


Any other Stockhausen fans here?

OccultHawk

Stockhausen gets the occasional shout out around here. I like his electronic stuff more than his traditional instrument 12 tone stuff.

rostasi

*Hymnen*

OccultHawk

That's my fave

Especially side 3

rostasi

Yes, the John Cage side on the electronic-only version. It's my favorite recording of all time.
I was just pointing out that it was spelled wrong - "hymen" is something else entirely...

OccultHawk

lol

I didn't notice

Spectralmusic

Lol, it was late night, pls forgive me


Hymnen is definitely the first truly monolithic, behemoth in electroacoustic music. That work has and continues to be a huge resource in the genre. Gesang Der Jünglinge was great and innovative and all but Hymnen really stepped things up a few levels.

Xenakis' best electroacoustic works (which are really really different again to Stockhausen) are after the 70s.
Though there's the awesome pieces by Pierre Scaeffer, Pierre Henry, Gyorgy Ligeti, Edgard Varese, Milton Babbitt, Luigi Nono, Bruno Maderna etc etc etc before Stockhausen's Hymnen was written.


I'm diggin' Licht so much lately, I even grabbed a copy of this:

rostasi

The other versions of Hymnen are great as well.
My first time experiencing it live was with Stockhausen
himself as klangregie. Later he taught me how to engineer
the sound in the space. Later performances were with him
being present too.

I will disagree on the Xenakis statement tho.
My third favorite work of all time is his Bohor from 1962.

*Schaeffer* BTW

OccultHawk

That's incredible you knew Stockhausen. I was fortunate enough to attend a few lectures by Vladimir Ussachevsky but only ever asked him one question and that was during an official Q&A thing. I asked him a bumbled question about his recording techniques and felt terribly embarrassed afterward. It was obvious I just wanted to talk to him but was too stupid to come up with a respectable question.

For whatever it's worth over the last year or so I've become more and more enamared with Olivier Messiaen.

I have no idea where it ranks among all his works but I love Xenakis' percussion music.

Spectralmusic

That is awesome! He must have been an inspiring man to be around; so focused, knowledgeable and witty etc


I have a strong love for Diamorphoses, Orient Occident and Bohor, no need to worry. They're such amazing pieces <3 (Stockhausen doesn't have anything on the love I have for Xenakis overall but this thread's not about him )
I do think Xenakis achieved something (as far as electronic music goes) even greater and more immersive but it's all subjective.