Karlheinz Stockhausen

Born 22 August 1928, Stockhausen studied at the Hochschule für Musik Köln and with Olivier Messiaen in Paris before becoming a central figure of the Darmstadt School. Over nearly sixty years he produced work that refused traditional forms: the nineteen Klavierstücke, the electronic Gesang der Jünglinge, Gruppen for three orchestras, the live-electronic Mikrophonie I, and Licht - a seven-opera cycle that stands as one of the most ambitious projects in modern music. He introduced controlled chance into serial composition and pioneered musical spatialization, his theories shaping not only art music but jazz and popular music. He died 5 December 2007 at his home in Kürten, having left ten volumes of writings and a catalogue that redefined what a composer could attempt.