Karlheinz Stockhausen - Composer, electronic music pioneer
German composer Karlheinz Stockhausen died Wednsday December 5, 2007 at his home in Kuerten-Kettenberg and is to be buried in the Waldfriedhor Cemetary in Kuerten, Germany. The cause of his death has not been announced.
In the memorial booklet distributed on his website, Stockhausen said shortly before his death, ““My life is extremely one-sided: what counts are the works as scores, recordings, films, and books. That is my spirit formed into music and a sonic universe of moments of my soul.”
Always bluntly forward, when asked how he became involved in electronic music Karlheinz Stockhausen said in the Nov./Dec. 1977 issue of Synapse Magazine,”The question is wrong. I started the electronic music.” While his claim can be debated, his contribution to the world of avant garde and electronic music is weighty indeed. And although his non-electronic output was larger, it is not what he is best remembered for.
Extending his controversial nature into his greater life, Karlheinz Stockhausen found himself embattled in 2001 when he stated that the 911 attacks in New York were “the greatest work of art one can imagine.” He later apologized for his comments.
Orphaned in WWII, Stockhausen went on to study under composer Olivier Messiaen in Paris from 1952 to 1953. There he also met his French contemporary Pierre Boulez.
Read Synapse Magazine’s 1977 interview with Karlheinz Stockhausen
Visit Karlheinz Stockhausen’s website
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