Stockhausen - MANTRA

Karlheinz Stockhausen (Artist), Karlheinz Stockhausen (Composer), Rosalind Bevan (Performer), Yvar Mikashoff (Performer), Yvar Mikhashoff (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Rosalind Bevan, Yvar Mikashoff, Yvar Mikhashoff
• Composer: Karlheinz Stockhausen
• Audio CD (November 18, 2009)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: New Albion Records
• ASIN: B000000R2N
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #180,849 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #40 in Music > Classical > Instruments > Electronic > Computer

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars one of the few masterpieces kicking around today., May 4, 2000

By 

scarecrow "scarecrow" (Chicago, Illinois United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Stockhausen - MANTRA (Audio CD)

The melody for MANTRA is four bars of music enveloped by silences, it came to him while sitting next to the driver " I heard this melody -it all came very quickly together: I had the idea of one single musical figure or formula that would be expanded over a very long period of time", the work for two pianos, with crotales and electronic manipulation is now a high water mark. Stockhausen had been moving forever into World Music since his first visit to Japan. And has been utilizing the concepts and musical processes of structured improvisation, Telemusik, "Aus den sieben Tagen", certainly the ode to the world "Hymnen" for quite some time. Mantra however is more a focused construction where this one single cell of a melody directs and regenerates the entire work. The piano texture is wonderful in that the density is distributed between both piano players here. So there are marked contrasts, and exposed single lines, sometimes omitting the middle registers on the keyboard to create this clangorous=like tone.The concept of the FORMULA of course was later expanded into his colossus Licht, an opera for each day of the week. The FORMULA not only directs the music but the dancing and stage lighting and movements on stage. This work has magical charms for I know people who hate Stockhausen, yet love MANTRA.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of Stockhausen's most memorable and rewarding works, April 11, 1999

By 

Krys Kieslowski (Cinema Heaven says...) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Stockhausen - MANTRA (Audio CD)

What can you expect from this CD? An exhilirating, encyclopedic piece of music. Like much Stockhausen, "Mantra" creates its own unique sonic environment, one which takes getting used to, but it's worth it. There's a strong current of mysticism in the music but also a lot of humor and playfulness; passages that sound like brooding 19th century romanticism are mixed in with the avant-garde bravura, crashing dissonances, mutated sounds, and cosmological musings. There's a terrific "duelling pianos" section near the end which by itself is enough to make me glad I have this CD.

Several recordings of "Mantra" are available. I've heard great things about a recording done by Dutch musicians Ellen Corver & Sepp Grotenhuis. Check around before buying. In any case I'm very happy with this performance -- it's a CD I've been listening to again and again, appreciating it more every time.

18 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars experience this !, October 4, 2000

By 

Alejandra Vernon "artist & illustrator" (Long Beach, California) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Stockhausen - MANTRA (Audio CD)

They put a lot of labels on this type of music..."post modern serialism" and such. I think perhaps some people may be put off by the "intellectual jargon" that surrounds modern music...I just call it beautiful ! Wonderful sounds, echoes, rhythms, are played by 2 pianos (Mikhashoff and Bevan) and "Electronics" (created by Orsted).

This is a great piece to put on very late at night, when it's quiet enough to fully appreciate the sound qualities, or to listen to on a good pair of earphones. In mood, I find it almost meditative.

If you haven't heard this kind of music before, it may take a couple of hearings for one's ear to get tuned into it...and it's worth the time ! You'll get hooked. This is truly wonderful music.