We mourn the loss of a man and a master who, like hardly anyone else in his generation, embodied the almost lost achievements of German and European culture and knew how to set them to music whose explosive power still resonates today. Swimming against the current, he was responsible for a composition that once again emphasized the sentiment in the music and thus abolished the Adornite sedimented spirit in the best sense of the word.
The so-called New Simple was new to him, but not easy. In addition to the musical meaning and content, he was always concerned with the hidden meaning, whether in the seemingly naive LÄNDLER or the almost bruitistic HAMLETMASCHINE. He answered the question of being or not being musically, because music had almost existential significance for him.
He always remained open to the different and the foreign, whether it was the live electronic music of his friend Luigi Nono or the music of the next generation, which he tried to promote in various institutions such as the SWR Experimental Studio or the Siemens Music Foundation. In his search for harmony, he was free from fashions, ideologies or even identity criteria.
Since he will hopefully live on in and with his music for a long time to come, we will now especially miss him as an eloquent free spirit of music culture, a fatal loss especially today.
And I personally will miss his friendly advice and witty remarks…
We mourn the loss of a remarkable man and master, who embodied the almost lost achievements of German and European culture like few others of his generation. He knew how to set these achievements to music, with an explosive force that still reverberates today. Swimming against the tide, he pioneered a style of composition that re-emphasized sentiment in music, effectively abolishing the Adornite sedimented spirit in the best sense of the word.
The so-called NEW SIMPLICITY was indeed new, but in his case, never simple. Beyond musical sense and content, he always sought the underlying meaning, whether in the supposedly naïve LÄNDLER or the almost bruitistic HAMLETMASCHINE. He answered the question of “to be or not to be” through his music, which held an almost existential meaning for him.
He remained open to the different and the strange, embracing live electronic music from his friend Luigi Nono, and promoting the music of the Next Generation through various institutions such as the SWR Experimentalstudio and the Siemens Music Foundation. In his search for coherence, he was free from fashions, ideologies, or identitarian criteria.
As he hopefully lives on through his music for a long time to come, we will miss him as an eloquent freethinker of musical culture—a fatal loss, especially today.
And I personally will miss his friendly advice and bon mots…
Detlef Heusinger
