Saturday, October 15, 2011

Zeitkratzer plays Karlheinz Stockhausen

You can't say listening to a Zeitkratzer album is a 'nice' experience. The ensemble plays with all possible forms and conventions. They can switch from Lou Reed or Whitenoise to Alvin Lucier in one minute. It takes a little bit of effort to get into their world. But the result is rewarding. The Karlheinz Stockhausen album that just come out is one of their easier ones and certainly one of the albums of this warm autumn. Although he threw away all musical conventions Stockhausen was never really a rebel. He fits in quite nicely in the timeline of contemporary composers. He has a reputation of turning chaos into beauty. So, Zeitkratzer plays Karlheinz Stockhausen. No notations or notes. The musicians only get some instructions from the composer and have to play the score intuitively. The result is, well, remarkable and absolutely gorgeous... Although the two works come from a different world the climaxing 'Setz die Segel zur Sonne' could be a precursor or the originator of Pink Floyd's 'Set the Controls to the Heart of the Sun'. Same era. Same title. Release date of 'Zeitkratzer plays Karlheinz Stockhausen': 29 november.

http://www.zeitkratzer.de/

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