Stockhausen: Stimmung

Stockhausen: Stimmung, Sing Circle with Gregory Rose ★★★★
During a recent operating room conversation with Herr Doktor Peters, an anesthesiologist, and expert in classical music, he wondered whether I had any Stockhausen. I didn’t. So, now I do. Karl Heinz Stockhausen was among the Avant-Garde experimental composers in the 60’s and 70’s. This is a wonderful example of that creative output. It definitely will generate many comments. Most will note that it is not music. Of course, then, we lapse into the lengthy discussion of defining music. Let’s not go there. Needless to say, this is a cohesive collection of vocal sounds that seem to have some pattern or flow to them, and not much else. I guess if I was truly into late 20th-century music, I might have a better understanding of this work. But, having listened to this work about 4-5 times now, I find it quite valuable to play in the operating room as background “music”. Once you’ve listened to this recording, you’ll know why music is in quotes.  You may soon hear more in Kritik about Stockhausen.