Symbolism as a Compositional Method in the Works of Karlheinz Stockhausen
Throughout the music of composer Karlheinz Stockhausen (1928-2007) things occur that may have meaning beyond the music itself. They may even refer to personal myths that Stockhausen created. Together with implied or explicit mystical leanings, such occurrences on their own could stir passions or dissensions, as well as curiosity, making his already controversial music all the more challenging.
A 1992 interview with Stockhausen conducted at the Stockhausen Archive located behind his self-designed home near Cologne commenced the research for my book about these symbols. He and I went over all his works to date searching for both unique and recurring symbols and any possible meanings. These were organized into categories: his personal life; numerology; modern occult; his "Forumla technique" as a symbol; and context of the many symbols and myths in LICHT, his seven-part cycle of multi-media theater.
Originally conceived as a German-language doctoral dissertation under the title die Symbolik als kompositorische Methode in den Werken von Karlheinz Stockhausen, the project was proposed to and approved by the Free University Berlin in 1992, with the finished German-language monograph submitted in 1996 in consideration for a PhD in musicology. The oral examination took place the same year in Berlin. Written evaluations of it were submitted by Prof. Dr. Albrecht Riethmüller (my mentor) and Prof. Dr. Gert Mattenklott (1942-2009). In that same year, the Free University Berlin bestowed upon Stockhausen an honorary doctorate.
A self-published English version was prepared in College Park, Maryland, and distributed to universities in Europe, along with 12 copies separately to Stockhausen at his request. I later learned of a letter he wrote to me dated January 11, 1999 listing his quibbles and compliments. I never received this letter, but it appears in the 16th volume of his TEXTE zur Musik on pages 371-73.
It has been my hope that my book could help set aside controversies by at least acknowledging some of them. This could allow younger composers to more freely approach Stockhausen's music and get on with the more important business of evaluating for themselves the music of the 20th century. Compared with my enthusiasm, relatively few of my acquaintances and colleagues of my own generation had nearly as much, even those who championed composers significantly influenced by Stockhausen, such as György Ligeti (1923-2006) and Krzysztof Penderecki (1933-2020).
Leave it to the Beatles to effortlessly understand Stockhausen's vision better than many hostile and dismissive academicians. Stockhausen was also proud to appear on the cover of their Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album and accepted their request to collaborate, even if logistics did not allow it. Codas of strident musique concrète tacked on to several Beatles songs (most notably "I am the Walrus" and "All You Need is Love") express the rock quartet's admiration of Stockhausen better than many scholarly articles, not to mention an always intriguing tape piece "Revolution 9" on the White Album.
When esteemed American Stockhausen scholar Jerome Kohl (1946-2020) generously invited me to submit a chapter of my book to a special issue of Perspectives of New Music devoted exclusively to Stockhausen, a "peer review" of other contributing musicologists whose names I did not recognize soundly rejected my work, even though it had already been approved by a respected university, published, and endorsed by Stockhausen himself. It wasn't the first time I felt the sting of such bizarrely unjust hostility in what might have once been for me an otherwise respectable profession. On the other hand, it leaves me wondering what sanitized version of the 20th century will prevail among the "winners" in this highly competitive American academic system. Years later when my wife studied musicology at an Ivy League school, she brought home stacks of then current, "relevant" articles which included an analysis of the children's piece "Chopsticks" (the conclusions of which I strongly disagreed with); a claim that Beethoven was depicting a violent rape in the first movement of his Symphony 9 (no joke); and endless dueling shibboleths between followers of a music camp arguing "Perception" versus their bitter foes arguing "Cognition."
In 2007, my own modest professional academic career sang its not unexpected but sad swan song when my transitory position as guest professor in Seoul, South Korea, was wrapping up. I sent a request to Stockhausen for a letter of recommendation, which he promptly provided (dated two months before his death): "October 2007 / To whom it may concern: / I have been acquainted with Dr. Gregg Wager and his excellent work in musicology since 1982 when he participated in the month-long Stockhausen-Project at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague. This project involved daily seminars, concerts and master-classes on my works. / In 1996, he wrote his doctoral dissertation Die Symbolik als kompositorische Methode in den Werken von Karlheinz Stockhausen (Symbolism as a Compositional Method in the Works of Karlheinz Stockhausen), which I consider to be an excellent source of information about my work. / In my opinion, he is highly qualified for any teaching position in the field of musicology. / Sincerely, / Ka Stockhausen. //"
Admittedly, any lingering chic strangeness that typifies the avant-garde of the first 75 years of the 20th century has suddenly become brutally passé. The comforting normalcy of this Post-modern era commencing in 1975 and lasting roughly 50 years has been forged by a healthy but merciless music business, whether from the classical or more popular traditions, that controls and admires procedure over substance. Even with my acquired taste for sour grapes, I likewise recognize that even in a barren desert, there are still things to see and appreciate. Still, any musician attempting a precarious balancing act upon the high wire of today's neo-Medievalism and its purging inquisitions may gain momentum in a more satisfying way by intrepidly revisiting Stockhausen. Writing next chapters always beats amnesia.
Click here to read the English version of the Foreword
Click here to read the German version of the Foreword
College Park, Maryland: Huwon Productions, 1998. ISBN 0-9665850-0-3
BACK TO HOMEPAGE