Karlheinz Stockhausen: Last Farewell

As the online Karlheinz Stockhausen Memorial Book started to accept submissions, news sources not even faintly associated with contemporary music suddenly ran specials and articles. It only further stresses the universal meaning Karlheinz Stockhausen had and the global impact of his art. The condolescences and messages of utter disbelief were not restricted to Europe either. „One of the very first “classical” records I bought oh-so long ago (in the same moment as Bruckner & Tchaikovsky, since I knew absolutely NADA about any of this stuff — I’d been listening to Jeff Beck and the Beatles before that), was the old Nonesuch LP of Momente.“, composer Steve Layton confessed on Sequenza21.com, a portal geared towards contemporary classical composers in the USA and his colleage Ann Millikan was finding it hard to translate her sentiments into words: „A very sad day indeed. I keep finding myself saying, where is everybody going? So many great voices are passing.“

Preparations for Stockhausen's 80th birthday were already under way and the Stockhausen Verlag had announced a special birthday set filled with goodies. Instead of pleasant anticipation, sadness was now pervasive. The reason is more than just a musical one: It should also not be forgotten that Karlheinz Stockhausen, next to his work as a composer, was also a beloved and respected teacher, whose personal influence reaches wide into the following generation of artists. Students of his include people as different as LaMonte Young, Peter Eötvös and Can's Holger Czukay.

Image courtesy of the Karlheinz Stockhausen Foundation

Homepage: Karlheinz Stockhausen Foundation