Remembering Mauricio Kagel
The death of the avant-garde composer-cum-teacher robs music of a truly inspirational figure
Mauricio Kagel's death yesterday, at the age of 76, is a huge blow for contemporary music. First of all, there's the shock of the news – Kagel was hugely active as composer, teacher, and inspirational figurehead for generations of musicians, and he was due to take part in a major retrospective of his music in Frankfurt this weekend – and then there's the knowledge that music has lost one of its most important and ironic consciences. Growing up in Argentina, where he studied with Borges, he moved to Cologne in 1957, and spent the rest of his life in Germany. He was both an essential part of the avant-garde and a knight's move away from it, both in terms of his identity and his compositional priorities. But it's precisely that lateral gaze on the conventions of music, theatre, film, and politics that gives Kagel's music its lasting power and ability to communicate. He had a reputation as musical humorist and absurdist in the 1950s and 60s, in pieces like Match, scored for two cellists and a percussionist-cum-referee who polices their musical battle, or Antithese, a piece he filmed in which a studio technician fights a losing battle with the mechanics of the music technology, ending up mummified by a nightmarish web of magnetic tape. But there's more than parody going on his music, whether of the serial techniques of Stockhausen or Boulez, or of the monuments of classical music history, paradigmatically in his film, Ludwig Van, his scurrilous contribution to Beethoven's double centenary in 1970. Even a piece like Staatstheater (1971) is more than what it seems: on one hand, this is a blowing up of operatic institutions and conventions, of a kind that Boulez never attempted; but it's also a hugely ambitious piece of musical and instrumental theatre. That's the point about nearly all of Kagel's music: the way it investigates the site of musical performance, exposing the social and political dimensions that are latent in any performance context, whether it's in Eine Brise, Kagel's outdoor performance piece for 111 bicyclists, or the music-historical anachronisms of his Music for Renaissance Instruments. In later years, Kagel seemed to sublimate his explicitly absurdist concerns in pieces like the Double-Sextet or the Orchestral Etudes. But even these apparently abstract pieces interrogate similar territory, taking apart the ideals of 'pure' instrumental music from the inside. Perhaps the masterpiece of his last couple of decades is his cycle for large ensemble, The Compass Rose, eight profound and playful pieces that take the points of the compass as their inspiration: a comment on exoticism, cultural appropriation, and sonic geography – and great fun in performance. I remember percussionist David Hockings scything into a log, showering the London Sinfonietta at the end of a performance of the whole cycle at the Queen Elizabeth Hall. Kagel gave the Aldeburgh Festival an invigorating dose of his energy in 2003, when he was composer in residence, even if some of his later music seemed almost wilfully dense and abstruse. Kagel's creativity is not at the centre of 20th- or 21st-century music - indeed, his output is as much a commentary on the ideals and ideologies of music history as a self-conscious contribution to the canon - but that's exactly why he should be essential listening for anybody interested in new music September 20, 2008
MAURICIO KAGEL
Remembering Mauricio Kagel
The death of the avant-garde composer-cum-teacher robs music of a truly inspirational figure
Mauricio Kagel's death yesterday, at the age of 76, is a huge blow for contemporary music. First of all, there's the shock of the news – Kagel was hugely active as composer, teacher, and inspirational figurehead for generations of musicians, and he was due to take part in a major retrospective of his music in Frankfurt this weekend – and then there's the knowledge that music has lost one of its most important and ironic consciences. Growing up in Argentina, where he studied with Borges, he moved to Cologne in 1957, and spent the rest of his life in Germany. He was both an essential part of the avant-garde and a knight's move away from it, both in terms of his identity and his compositional priorities. But it's precisely that lateral gaze on the conventions of music, theatre, film, and politics that gives Kagel's music its lasting power and ability to communicate. He had a reputation as musical humorist and absurdist in the 1950s and 60s, in pieces like Match, scored for two cellists and a percussionist-cum-referee who polices their musical battle, or Antithese, a piece he filmed in which a studio technician fights a losing battle with the mechanics of the music technology, ending up mummified by a nightmarish web of magnetic tape. But there's more than parody going on his music, whether of the serial techniques of Stockhausen or Boulez, or of the monuments of classical music history, paradigmatically in his film, Ludwig Van, his scurrilous contribution to Beethoven's double centenary in 1970. Even a piece like Staatstheater (1971) is more than what it seems: on one hand, this is a blowing up of operatic institutions and conventions, of a kind that Boulez never attempted; but it's also a hugely ambitious piece of musical and instrumental theatre. That's the point about nearly all of Kagel's music: the way it investigates the site of musical performance, exposing the social and political dimensions that are latent in any performance context, whether it's in Eine Brise, Kagel's outdoor performance piece for 111 bicyclists, or the music-historical anachronisms of his Music for Renaissance Instruments. In later years, Kagel seemed to sublimate his explicitly absurdist concerns in pieces like the Double-Sextet or the Orchestral Etudes. But even these apparently abstract pieces interrogate similar territory, taking apart the ideals of 'pure' instrumental music from the inside. Perhaps the masterpiece of his last couple of decades is his cycle for large ensemble, The Compass Rose, eight profound and playful pieces that take the points of the compass as their inspiration: a comment on exoticism, cultural appropriation, and sonic geography – and great fun in performance. I remember percussionist David Hockings scything into a log, showering the London Sinfonietta at the end of a performance of the whole cycle at the Queen Elizabeth Hall. Kagel gave the Aldeburgh Festival an invigorating dose of his energy in 2003, when he was composer in residence, even if some of his later music seemed almost wilfully dense and abstruse. Kagel's creativity is not at the centre of 20th- or 21st-century music - indeed, his output is as much a commentary on the ideals and ideologies of music history as a self-conscious contribution to the canon - but that's exactly why he should be essential listening for anybody interested in new music 
September 15, 2008
CARTOON-BIGORNA (2003, CD, BRAZIL)
This is the second album from this great band. "Bigorna" (subtitled 'The Real History of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table') is a concept album, a spoof on the legend of King Arthur. Very irreverently, the band plays fast and furious, showing flashes of ZAPPA, Alex Harvey, The Beatles, The Beach Boys and Splitz Enz all mixed together, yet they manage to add the usual prog fare of Yes and Genesis. This CD comes with a comic book, written in Portuguese.Official website
Tracklist:
1. Prologue (3:29)2. From The Hands Of God (3:48)3. Knight’s Nightmare (6:37)4. King’s Song (3:38)5. King’s Fugue (1:49)6. She Smiled (3:43)7. Guinevere (5:41)8. Marriage (2:17)9. Show Me Where Love Lives (2:33)10. Lily Fears (1:31)11. The Warning (5:51)12. March Of Despair - A) She’s Coming B) Cool Down Emily Whith C) Song Of Despair (4:52)13. Apocalypstic Man (3:56)14. Alberich’s Blues (3:00)15. Letter To Marion (5:17)16. In The Gates Of Hell (1:07)17. The Last Battle (9:29)18. The Great Gates Of Freedom (4:35)
here
FIRYUZA-S/T (1982, LP, TURKMENISTAN)
Fantastic and ultra-rare Lp from Turkmenistan.This is great music, very complex and beautiful compositions in a perfect progressive/jazz-rock stile.
Tracklist:
1. Ashkhabad 2. Native Land 3. Chapyksuar 4. Dialog in Aul.
here
NOUVELLES ETHNOLOGIQUES DE L'OBSCUR MUSEUM-NEO MUSEUM VOLUME 1 (1985, LP, FRANCE)
Another great obscure french progressive/R.I.O. group.Tracklist: 1 Une sidérurgie no.4 / 2 Une sidérurgie no.1 / 3 Une sidérurgie no.5 / 4 Erreur d’errance song / 5 Premier élément / 6 Eléments de paraphrase / 7 Rahcuoba pro afghanIntervenants
Credits: Alain CASARI Saxophone alto, Antoine GINDT Guitare, Contrebasse, Piano, Daniel KOSKOWITZ Drums, GUESTS:, Jacques VEILLE Trombone, Pascal SIEGER Saxophone sopranino, Jérôme BOURDELLON Clarinette basse, Flûte basse, Raoul BINOT Saxophone ténor. (Thank you alexei!)
Recommended!
Update
THE GHOULIES-DOGGED BY DOGMA (1982, LP, ENGLAND)
Tracklist: 1.Listening To My Neighbour Singing 2.Sexist Conversation 3.Social Workers 4.Hollow Cost 5.Make Sure Your Garage Is Large Enough 6.Stabbing Cats 7.CS's 8.Look Mum No Hands (Parts 1-3) 9.A Large Lounge And Yawn.
link
BONFIRE-GOES BANANAS (1975, CD, NETHERLAND)
Very beautiful Dutch band "Bonfire" consisted of Cees Meerman (drums), Eugene den Hoed (guitars and flute), Kees den Hoed (bass and gong), and Frank Witte (Fender Rhodes, vibes, grand piano and recorders).Complex arrangements, great feeling in a perfect Canterbury sound.
Tracklist:
1. Delirium (3:14) 2. Contrast (5:10) 3. Vuurstaal(Part 2) (3:10) 4. Chinese in Europe(Part 1) (3:17) 5. Circle (6:29) 6. The Sage of the Running Nose (18:50) a) Running Nose b) Cabaret c) Third Eye d) Cabaret Again e) Running Nose II Bonus Track: 7. Contrast (Single Version) (3:38) 8. Circle (Single Version) (2:48) 9. There's Always a Reason (Previously unrelease demo Track) (5:16) 10. Ohne Wort (Previously Unrelease demo Track) (5:14)
Tracklist:
1. Delirium (3:14) 2. Contrast (5:10) 3. Vuurstaal(Part 2) (3:10) 4. Chinese in Europe(Part 1) (3:17) 5. Circle (6:29) 6. The Sage of the Running Nose (18:50) a) Running Nose b) Cabaret c) Third Eye d) Cabaret Again e) Running Nose II Bonus Track: 7. Contrast (Single Version) (3:38) 8. Circle (Single Version) (2:48) 9. There's Always a Reason (Previously unrelease demo Track) (5:16) 10. Ohne Wort (Previously Unrelease demo Track) (5:14)
YOG SOTHOTH-S/T (1984, LP, FRANCE)
The band "Yog Sothoth" included: Pascal Morrow (violin), Philippe Guillot (saxophones, flute), Jean-Yves Joron (keyboards), Pierre-Gedeon Monteil (bass) and Olivier Lechien (drums).
The music is a great mixture of avangarde jazz and chamber rock to remind me Vortex, Univers Zero and Art Zoyd.
Update
Update
PSYNKOPAT-HAR VI NAGON SILl...(1978, LP, SWEDEN)
Great rare Lp from Sweden!Tracklist:
Side A 1. Eskapistel nr 601 (4:59) 2. 43 (4:14) 3. Love, Love Lavemang (4:59) 4. Kroppsraga (3:22) 5. Blazer - Vargen i Vilda Väster (1:18) 6. Torrboll (4:05) Side B: 1. I Peugeoten (3:46) 2. Har Vi Några Tvångstankar (2:21) 3. +39 C (5:59) 4. Har Vi Någon Basist (0:39) 5. Har Vi Någon Demokrati (5:21) 6. Fusk, Mina Viet - Congas (1:51) 7. Banal Böj (3:54)
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