Table of Contents

Part 1 In Place of a Foreword Part 2 Preface Part 3 Acknowledgments Part 4 Introduction: On Telling the Truth Chapter 5 1 Formation Chapter 6 2 Early Works Chapter 7 3 Polarities Chapter 8 4 Rhythmic Cells Chapter 9 5 Music on Tape Chapter 10 6 Watching Time Chapter 11 7 Meyer-Eppler Chapter 12 8 Temperaments Chapter 13 9 Aleatory Chapter 14 10 Revolution Chapter 15 11 Contacts Chapter 16 12 Theater Chapter 17 13 Uncertainty Chapter 18 14 Process Chapter 19 15 Anthems Chapter 20 16 Figures Chapter 21 17 White Space Chapter 22 18 Findings Chapter 23 19 Rites Chapter 24 20 Stagecraft Chapter 25 21 Allegories Chapter 26 22 Mysterium Chapter 27 23 Donnerstag Chapter 28 24 Samstag Chapter 29 25 Montag Chapter 30 26 Dienstag Chapter 31 27 Freitag Chapter 32 28 Mittwoch Chapter 33 29 Sonntag Part 34 Bibliography Part 35 Index Part 36 About the Author

About the Author

Robin Maconie is a New Zealand-born composer and musicologist who has studied with Olivier Messiaen and Karlheinz Stockhausen.

Reviews

...well done...Stockhausen has been such an extraordinary figure within the musical world of the last 50 years-variously a musical scientist, a psychic astronaut, and a neo-Wagnerian megalomaniac-that we need to know much, much more. Musical Times A composer of avant-garde electronic and instrumental music, Karlheinz Stockhausen is one of the most elusive and enigmatic musical thinkers of his generation. Organized chronologically, this volume catalogs Stockhausen's complete output and identifies the sources of his inspiration. Each composition is fully documented with information on publisher, catalog number, instrumentation, duration, and authorized compact disc recording. Reference and Research Book News In the past, one could argue that books written by devoted disciples (such as Maconie) would find their strongest audience primarily in other true believers. The present volume, however, can be read with pleasure for its insightful comments on a host of topics-philosophy, poetry, German responses to Nazism, and the music of Boulez, Berio, Cage, Reich, Riley, et al. Stockhausen himself is omnipresent, of course, and the text is peppered with quotations from the composer's writings. As always, these can be brilliant, perceptive, arrogant, silly, mystical, infuriating, or incomprehensible. But the context of such comments can now be seen in sharper focus. A fascinating book containing many gems. Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above. CHOICE ...Maconie often does say shrewd and penetrating things. He has a nice way with metaphor...There are many good things in this book... BBC Music Magazine Stockhausen's chief chronicler... -- Alex Ross The Rest Is Noise We might be forgiven for assuming that it is a third edition of the 1976 original. But this is not the case. 'Other Planets' is, in most essential respects, new. It is also remarkably fresh and comprehensive...Crucially, for anyone disposed to assume that Stockhausen has for a quarter of a century been a shadow, if not a parody, of his former self, Maconie should make you think again...Maconie's criticism is especially potent for being so precise in matters of technical chapter and verse, the reactions of a musician who has as good an idea as anyone of the composer's working methods...Another strength is that, although the narrative is chronological, Maconie takes considerable pains to trace connections and associations, musical and cultural, in ways which...overall, bring a plausible coherence to what might otherwise have been a disjointed narrative. Stockhausen is represented as the product of a time when radio, cinema, and surrealism were dominant cultural influences, and this core characterization leads to many striking and illuminating analogies...Above all, Maconie wishes to characterize Stockhausen not simply as a composer, but as a teacher, after the holistic, utopian ethos of Friedrich Froebel. The book ends with a tour de force in the form of 140 pages on 'Licht', which offers a gripping traversal of the cycle's strengths and weaknesses...[and] a masterly contextualization of the work's character and quality. Maconie rarely puts a foot wrong...Other Planets is a remarkable achievement, and essential reading for all concerned with the present and future of serious music as something intricately involved in wider cultural currents. Tempo New Zealand composer and musicologist Robin Maconie has written a meticulously researched biography of the man many believe to be the world's greatest living composer, German electronic music pioneer Karlheinz Stockhausen. Maconie is regarded as the world authority on Stockhausen, and his book Other Planets: The Music of Karlheinz Stockhausen is the result of 40 years of studying his work. The New Zealand Edge ...Maconie's exploration of all things Stockhausen is a winner...this new book offers greater nuance and-delightfully-earnest criticism...Maconie has done amazing work. La Folia: Online Musical Review, April 2007 Books about Stockhausen have not been scarce, but an up-to-date and not overly technical study of his music was certainly needed: this one fits the bill admirably...an ideal overview... Teaching History: A Journal of Methods An invaluable and exhaustive study of a giant in western music. -- John Harper ...great fun to read, and full of provocative nuggets of information...a useful guide. Times Literary Supplement a lucid study... The New Zealand Herald A piece-by-piece guide to the composers music, and an absolutely essential reference. Artsaha! His commentary was remarkably attuned not only to the physical presence of the canvas, but also to its otherworldly harmonies...Maconie- as writer as well as speaker- is an immensely practical, at times demanding, yet persuasive guide to both the world around us and the "other planets" contained therein. New Zealand Books, Fall 2008 The sheer amount of information is of immense value...The book provides an invaluable foundation for further research on Stockhausen. Oxford Journal, February 2009