karlheinz stockhausen: zyklus fur einen schlagzeuger/klavierstuck x

Wergo's essential reissues from their famous 1960s era Studio Reihe series continue with a recording of music by Karlheinz Stockhausen. The composer's 'Zyklus für einen Schlagzeuger' is offered in two different versions performed by two different performers: Max Neuhaus and Christoph Caskel. Stockhausen originally wrote the work for the Kranichstein Percussion Competition in 1959. He deliberately did not determine the length of the piece's performance, so as not to be overly specific concerning the work's multiplicity of meanings, the different characters of various performances, or the technical abilities of the players. For 'Klavierstück X,' performed here by the legendary pianist Frederic Rzewski, Stockhausen combined two extremes. The work is based on the attempt to mediate between relative disorder and order, chaos and balance.