Stockhausen on Music: Lectures and Interviews

The leading German composer of electronic music presents his theories of composition and performance. Transcribed from a series of public lectures given in English in 1971, and a long interview with Maconie in 1981, the book covers electronic, chance and intuitive music, process planning and other trends in avant-garde composition. Maconie ( The Works of Karlheinz Stockhausen ) has retained the flavor of Stockhausen's English, revealing much of the composer's personality as he talks about his sources of inspiration and describes in detail his composing methods. Stockhausen's lectures contain penetrating philosophical and spiritual observations on his lifelong involvement with sound and his desire to build an aural tradition. Published on the occasion of the composer's 60th birthday, the book includes a chronological list of Stockhausen's works and a discography. (Jan.)