Karlheinz Stockhausen - Mantra

Composed in 1970, Stockhausen’s “Mantra” is a duet for piano written for the Donaueschingen Festival. It is Stockhausen’s first completely scored piece after a long string of largely improvised compositions. Here both pianists play ring-modulated pianos, cymbals, and a wood block. One player is also controlling a recording of Morse code. The purpose of this composition was to explore the idea of a musical “mantra”. The repetition of sounds are intended to place both the audience and the musicians themselves into an altered state of consciousness, thus changing the concert performance into an interactive event where the composer and listener are equals.

Track listing

Side A: 1. Mantra 1-4 Side B: 1. Mantra 5-8 Side C: 1.Mantra 9-12 Side D: 1. Mantra 13-17

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