[New-Poetry] German composer Stockhausen is Dead

[e·ratio]

German composer Stockhausen is dead

12/7/2007, 1:54 p.m. EST
The Associated Press

BERLIN (AP) — Karlheinz Stockhausen, whose electronic works made him one
of Germany's most important postwar composers, has died, German state
broadcaster ZDF reported Friday.  He was 79.

Stockhausen, who gained fame with avant-garde compositions in the 1960s
and '70s and later moved to huge music theater and other projects, died
Wednesday, ZDF said, citing the Stockhausen Music Foundation.  It gave no
cause of death.

 Stockhausen's electronic compositions are a radical departure from
musical tradition and incorporate influences as varied as psychology, the
visual arts and the acoustics of a particular concert hall.

Stockhausen was born in the village of Moedrath near Cologne in western
Germany on Aug. 22, 1928.  His father was killed in World War II and his
mother also died, leaving him orphaned as a teenager.

After completing his studies in musicology, philosophy and German
literature at the University of Cologne, he went on to study under
composer Olivier Messiaen in Paris from 1952 to 1953, where he also met
his French contemporary Pierre Boulez.

Stockhausen wrote more than 280 works, including more than 140 pieces of
electronic or electro-acoustic music and brought out more than 100
different albums.  He was known for conducting nearly all of the premiere
performances of his works.

The composer is survived by six children from two marriages.  Services
were not immediately announced.

He provoked controversy in 2001 after describing the Sept. 11 attacks as
"the greatest work of art one can imagine" during a news conference in the
northern German city of Hamburger, where several of the hijackers had
lived.  The composer later apologized for his remarks, but the city still
canceled performances of his works.

posted by gregory vincent st. thomasino

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