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Helmut Lachenmann's Concept of Rejection

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 January 2016

Elke Hockings
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Extract

The eminent German composer Helmut Lachenmann enjoys an exalted reputation among a small circle of English contemporary music enthusiasts. To the wider English music public, though, he is little known. There are hardly any comprehensive accounts of Lachenmann in English. His consciously elusive compositional style could even be introduced to the English audience as ‘old-guard avantgarde’ without being challenged at all.

Type
Research Article
Information
Tempo , Issue 193 , July 1995 , pp. 4 - 14
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1995

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References

1 One only needs to compare the English and German version of the Heritage of Music series eds. Raeburn, Michael, Kendal, Alan, co-eds. Aprahamian, Felix, Mellers, Wilfried (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1989)Google Scholar. Lachenmann, who did not feature at all in the original English version, was given due respect in its German counterpart.

2 Although Lachenmann is listed in English encyclopedias as early as 1974, only three of Lachenmann's articles have been translated into English so far. One of these, ‘Die Schönheit und die Schöntöner. Zum Problem musikalischer Ästhetik heute’, appeared in Tempo 135 (12 1980)Google Scholar as ‘The “beautiful” in music today’. The third article, ‘On Structuralism’, was to appear in the summer of 1994. Selected statements by the composer were offered in English translations in the composer brochure Helmut Lachenmann (Wiesbaden: Breitkopf, 1 1980, 21986, 31990)Google Scholar. Various passages by and on Lachenmann have appeared in English as programme notes (e.g. Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival 1986, Warsaw Autumn 1979, 1981, 1988, 1991) or as record/CD notes. Three English articles by Robin Freeman, David Smeyers and John Warnaby are held at Breitkopf & Härtel in Wiesbaden. Only David Smeyer's account was published, in an American journal, The Clarinet. A number of performance and CD review articles have appeared in English language daily newspapers and music periodicals. Two of 23 recordings are presently available, according to the Gramophone Classical Cataloque (the Opus catalogue still does not list any).

3 Benjamin, George, programme brochure Meltdown (South Bank Centre, London 18–25 07 1993), n.pGoogle Scholar.

4 The author can ensure the support of an English opinion. See Fox, Christopher, ‘British Music at Darmstadt 1982–92’, Tempo 186 (09 1993), p.25 Google Scholar.

5 Komposition im 20. Jahrhundert. Details – Zusammenhdnge (Celle: Moeck Verlag, 1975), p.3 Google Scholar, trans. E.H. All translations are by E.H.; original German omitted only to conserve space.

6 ‘Über Schwierigkeiten der Bewertung und der Analyse neuester Musik’, Vom musikalischen Denken. Gesammelte Vorträge, eds. Damm, Rainer, Taub, Andreas (Mainz: Schott's Söhne, 1984), p.350 Google Scholar.

7 ‘Wider der Strategic der Verinnerlichung (Zur kompositorischen Methodik und Ästhetik) (1990)’, Konrad Boehmer. Das höse Ohr. Texte zur Musik 1961–1991, ed. Söil, Burkhardt (Cologne: DuMont, 1993), p.225 Google Scholar.

8 As Jörg Stenzl has rightly pointed out in respect to the bourgeois model of the German new music industry, ‘Tradition und Traditionsbruch’, Die neue Musik utui die Tradition. Kongressbeiträge, Sieben und eine analytische Studie, Veroffetulichunjien des Instituts fur Neue Musik utul Musikziehuiig Darmstadt 19, ed. Brinkmann, Reinhold (Mainz: Schott's Söhne, 1978), particularly pp.94–97 Google Scholar.

9 ‘Kölner Manifest 1991’, Blick zurück nach vorn, ein Buch zur paemoderne, eds. Roschek, Ingrid, Ottersbach, Heribert C., Tsangaris, Manos (Cologne: Thürmchen. 1992). pp.80–83 Google Scholar.

10 See ‘flying from the social pressure to explain everything … into an ethos of work’, Lachenmann, in an interview with Metzger, Heinz-Klaus, ‘Fragen und Aiitworten (1988)’. Musik-Konzepte 61/62. Helmut Lachenmann, eds. Metzger, Heinz-Klaus, Riehn, Rainer (Munich: edition text + kritik, 1988). pp. 118–119 Google Scholar.

Similarly, Feldman, Morton: ‘I know nobody except myselt who works so intensely … But they (younger composers, E.H.) do not understand the amount of work that is necessary to write a piece …’, in ‘… wie eine Ausdünnung der Musik durch Terpentin. Morton Feldman und Iannis Xenakis ira Gespräch’, Musik Texte 52 (01 1994). pp.44–45 Google Scholar.

11 programme brochure Donaueschinger Musiktaqe 1980, pp.22–23.

12 ‘Fragen und Antworten’, p.119–120.

13 The label Verweigerungsmusiker (musician of rejection) has often accompanied musicians around 1969 (and after) who composed and verbalized in the vein of Lachenmann. The author is thinking here of Nicolaus A. Huber, Friedhelm Dohl (around 1970), Hans Ulrich Lehmann, Dieter Schnebel (around 1970) and Hans-Joachim Hespos (with different political motivations), and more recently Mathias Spahlinger and Gerhard Stäbler. But the concept of rejection is the core of any modernist thought going back to the first half of this century. More specifically, Thomas Meyer coined the term ‘Lachenmann-school’ – to indicate the familiarity of musical textures (unusual instrumental treatments, ‘qualified’ silence) – originally published in a supplement of the Tagesanzeiger (15. Dec. 1989), partly reprinted Musik Texte 32 (Dec. 1989), p.53. Naturally, Lachenmann has tried to demonstrate that he is not joining the ‘exploiting tourism’ of estranged instrumental sounds. ‘Fragen und Antworten’, p.133.

14 The term ‘aura’ is supposed to describe a phenomenon which is less concretely associable with certain structural paradigms than the term ‘meaning’. Contrary to the common assumption, the term ‘aura’ was first mentioned by Adorno in a letter to Benjamin, Walter (Feb. 1940): ‘The term aura … not fully thought through …’ in Th. Adorno, W. Über Walter Benjamin Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp, 1970), p.160 Google Scholar. It is true, though, that the term ‘aura’ became a crucial backbone of Benjamin's, argument in Das Kunstwerk im Zeitalter seiner technischen Reproduzierbarkeit (Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp, 1963), particularly p.18 Google Scholar. Lachenmann absorbed this term through György Lukács's writings.

15 Murail, Tristan, pre-concert talk to the concert on 25/07/1993 (Meltdown festival 1993, London – South Bank Centre. 18–25 07 1993)Google Scholar.

16 In the open discussions with Rihm, Wolfgang at the Darmstadt summer course 1982, tape recording, Internationales Musikinstitut Darmstadt, No.810Google Scholar.

17 Lachenmann in an interview with Christine Mast, Hessischer Rundfunk II (18 Feb. 1992), 14-page mss., held at Breitkopf, p. 12.

18 Lachenmann, in an interview in Paris during the Festival D'Automne à Paris (1 10 1993, Salle Olivier Messiaen, Radio France)Google Scholar, reported by Anne Rey in Le Monde and by Gottwald, Clytus, ‘Helmut Lachenmann’, Komponisten da Gegenwart, eds. Heister, Hanns-Werner, Sparrer, Walter Wolfgang (Munich: edition text + kritik, 4th subsequent delivery, 1994), n.pGoogle Scholar.

19 Sketch book (rot; fest: gross) 262 S., Paul Sacher Stiftung, n.p.

20 Lachenmann in an interview with Szendy, Peter, ‘Des paradis éphémerès. Entretien avec Helmut Lachenmann’, programme brochure Festival D'Automne à Paris 1993. Helmut Lachenmann, p.5 Google Scholar; trans from Lachenmann's German translation, n.p.

21 See Becker's, Peter general discussion of the concept of rejection ‘Neue Musik zwischen Angebot und Verweigerung’, Komponieren heute. Ästhetische, soziologische und pädagogische Fraaen. Sieben Beiträge, Veröffeiulichunaen des Instituts für Neue Musik und Musikerziehung Darmstadt 23, ed. Jost, Ekkehard (Mainz: Schott, 1983), pp.24–37 Google Scholar.

22 Sielecki, Frank categorized Lachenmann as catholic in his PhD, “Das Politische in den Kompositionen von Helmut Lachenmann und Nicolaus A. Huber”, Rheinische Friedrich Wilhelm Universität Bonn, Germany, 1991, unpublishedGoogle Scholar.

Gubaidulina, Sofia referred to the music of Helmut Lachenmann to illustrate her idea of music's spiritual quality, ‘The Hand of Fate’, Composer to Composer. Conversations About Contemporary Music, ed. Ford, Andrew (St. Leonards: Allen & Unwin Pty Ltd, 1993), pp.124–125 Google Scholar.

It might be noteworthy to point out that Lachenmann grew up in a clergyman's household. Lachenmann's own view is expressed in the following statement, ‘I am actually not a marxist, rather religiously minded – and at the same time full of doubts towards all’ (1993), in the interview with Szendy, Peter, ‘Des paradis éphémères’, programme brochure Les Festival D'Automne à Paris 1993, p.4 Google Scholar.

23 Lachenmann, , ‘Luigi Nono oder der Rückblick auf die serielle Musik (1969)’, Melos 36/6 (06 1971), p.225 Google Scholar.

24 For example, the Becker lecture at Darmstadt (see note 21).

Gottwald, Clytus, ‘Ton und Laut. Abschied von Hegel’, Neuland. Ansätze zur Musik der Gegenwart II, ed. Henck, Herbert (Bergisch Gladbach: Neuland Musikverlag Herbert Henck, 1982), pp.97–109 Google Scholar.

Stäbler, Gerhard, ‘Silences. (Ver-)Schweigen’, Schnebel 60 (Hofheim: Wolke 1990), pp.231–255 Google Scholar, trans, into Engl. (Stäbler, Gerhard), ‘About Silence or What happens when nothing happens?’ Eonta 1/2 (1991), pp.68–81 Google Scholar. The same article modified as ‘Stille. Schrei. Stille. Den Säckeschmeissern’, Positionen 10 (1992), pp.24–26 Google Scholar.

The issue of the last-mentioned periodical Positionen was devoted to the issue of silence (with contributions by Walter Zimmermann, Eric de Vischner, Wolfgang Gratzer, Gerold W. Gruber). So are recent contributions by Mathias Spahlinger, Heinz Holliger or Nikolaus A. Huber.

25 ‘Die gefährdete Kommunikation Gedanken und Praktiken eines Komponsiten (1973)’, Musica 28/3 (05–06 1974), p.230 Google Scholar.

26 ‘Fragen und Antworten’. p.120.

27 Weiss, Peter, Ästhetik des Widerstandes I–III (Berlin: Henschelverlag. 1983)Google Scholar.

28 This appears to be one possible metaphor applied in musical percption. An article on musical motion by the author has been recently submitted for publication in Contemporary Music Review.

29 ‘Luigi Nemo oder der Rückblick auf die serielle Musik’, p.225.

30 ‘Vier Grundbestimmungen des Musikhörens (1979–80), Neuland. Ansätze zur Musik der Gegenwart I, ed. Henck, Herbert (Cologne: Musikverlag Herbert Henck, 1980), p.68 Google Scholar.

31 This phenomenon of human perception, called ‘perceptual streaming’ and ‘stream segregation’, has been a recent focus of music psychology research (e.g. Fred Lehrdahl, S. McAdams and A. Bregman). This mainly American research was accessible and known in Germany through the work by Helga de la Motte-Haber. Her book on music psychology was published in 1985. Her paper in the Darmstadt spring symposium in 1992 explicitly quoted Lehrdahl. De la Motte-Haber, , ‘Über die wahrnehmung musikalischer Formen’, Form in der Neuen Musik. Veröffentlichungen des Instituts für Neue Musik und Musikerziehung Darmstadt 33, ed. Jost, Ekkehard (Mainz: Schott, 1992), pp.26–35, particularly p.32, 33Google Scholar.

32 Lachenmann used other metaphorical terms for what the author calls static blocks: he compared the composer with an ‘organ player manipulating whole pipe=sound families’ (blocks?). At a different place he called a composition a ‘polyphony of orders’ (of blocks?), ‘Vier Grundbestimmungen’, p.73.

33 ‘Bedingungen des Materials. Stichworte zur Praxis der Theoriebildung (1978)’, Ferienkurse '78, Darmstádter Beitráge zur Neuett Musik 17, ed. Thomas, Ernst (Mainz: Schott's Söhne, 1978), p.93 Google Scholar.

34 Lachenmann in the interview with Christine Mast, p.10.

35 Held as an introductory paper at a ‘musica-viva’ concert in Munich, recorded 8 April 1984.

36 ‘Fragen und Antworten’, p.131.

37 Henze, Hans Werne, Die englische Karze. Ein Arbeitstagebuch 1978–1982 (Frankfurt a. M.: S. Fischer, 1983), p.346 Google Scholar.

38 Lachenmann quotes here a phrase by Nono, Luigi, ‘Musik hat ihre Unschuld verloren’, Musik und Gesellschaft 8–9 (08/09 1990), p.414 Google Scholar.

39 ‘Bedingungen des Materials’, p.97.

40 ‘Vier Grundbestimmungen des Musikhörens’, p.67.

41 ‘Accanto. Einführung zu einer Aufführung in Zürich am 23. November 1982’, Musik-Konzepte 61/62. Helmut Lachenmann, p.63 Google Scholar.

42 ‘Fragen und Antworten’, p.120.

43 ‘Musik hat ihre Unschuld verloren’, p.416.

44 For example, within the Münchner Biennale 1990 a symposium was held under the title Moderne versus Postmoderne, which thrived once again upon the polarization between Helmut Lachenmann and Wolfgang Rihm, alias modernism versus postmodernism.

45 ‘Über das Komponieren (1986)’, MusikTexte 16 (10, 1986), p.12 Google Scholar.

46 ‘Fragen und Antworten’, pp.123–4.

47 ‘Siciliano – Abbildungcn und Kommentarfragmente (1983)’, Musik-Konzepte 61/62. Helmut Lachenmann, pp.76–77 Google Scholar. The translation of Bewegungskategorien into action not movement categories is not perfectly correct, but expresses better what the author believed Lachenmann was meaning to say. There is reason to assume that he is more concerned with various ways of sound-production rather than with musical motion as mentioned earlier in this article.

48 ‘Fragen und Anrworten’. p.125.

49 Acoustic events out of a multiplicity of physical data were already Karlheinz Stockhausen's starting point for further construction (‘Empfindungsqualiäten’) in his Gesang der jünglinge (1955/56) and in his Kontakte (1959/60) as Blumenröder, Christoph pointed out in ‘Serielle Musik um 1960: Stockhausens Kontakte’, Analysen, Beiträge zu einer Problemgeschichte des Komponierens. Festschrift für Hans Heinrich Eggebrecht zum 65. Geburtstag (Stuttgart: Franz Steiner Verlag, 1984). p.504 Google Scholar.

50 ‘Siciliano’, pp.76–70. See Lachenmann's description of the process.

51 Lachenmann's concept of ‘musique concrète instrumentale’ is as complex a topic as his concept of ‘rejection’, and is therefore not pursued here any further.

52 The term ‘aura’ is described by Lachenmann in ‘Die vier Grundbestimmungen’, p.72; also in ‘Bedingungen des Materials’, p.96; Lachenmann also uses the term ‘existential aspect’ synonymously with ‘aura’ in ‘Bedingungen des Materials’, p.93.

Confusmgly, Lachenmann's term ‘aesthetic apparatus’ (first mentioned in ‘Die Schönheit und die Schöntöner. Zum Problem musikalischer Ästhetik heute (1976), Neue Musikzeitung 26/1 (02–03 1977), pp.1–7)Google Scholar is sometimes used synonymously with all ‘aspects of the musical material’ (see ‘Uber das Komponieren’, p.9) and sometimes synonymously with the ‘aura’ only (see ‘Musik als Abbild vom Menschen’, NZfM 146 (11 1985), p.17)Google Scholar.

53 ‘Bedingungen des Materials’, p.97.

54 For example, Umberto Eco's Einführung in die Semiotik was translated into German in 1972; his Opera Aperta as Das Offene Kunstwerk in 1973; Piaget's, Jean Der Strukturalismus was translated in 1973 Google Scholar.

Gadamer, Hans-Georg, Die Aktualität des Schönen. Kunst als Spiel, Symbol und Fest (Stuttgart, 1977)Google Scholar.

Adorno's, Musik, Sprache und ihr Verhältnis im gegenwärtigen Komponieren was published in 1978, Gesammelte Schriften 16 (Franfurt am Main; Suhrkamp), where he states on p.650 Google Scholar: ‘Music has to have a speech character’, it is not enough just being an ‘acoustical kaleidoscope’.

Chomsky, Naom. Aspekte der Synlax-Theorie (Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp, 1983)Google Scholar.

55 ‘Sprachlose Gestik als Formproblem neuer Musik’, Form in der Neuen Musik, Veröffentlichungen des Instituts für Neue Musik und Musikerziehung Darmstadt 33, ed. Jost, Ekkehard (Mainz: Schott, 1992), pp.16–25 Google Scholar.

56 Some of those examples are taken from Märkelmann, Michael, ‘Helmut Lachenmann oder “Das neu zu rechtfertigende Schöne”,’ NZfM 123/6 (11 1985), pp.21–25 Google Scholar; and Lachenmann, , ‘Fragen und Antworten’, pp.128 Google Scholar.

57 ‘Accanto’. pp.70.

58 ‘Siciliano’, p.76.

59 ‘Fragen und Antworten’, p.124.

60 ‘Fragen und Antworten’, p.133.

61 The more substantial ones, e.g. by Hans-Peter Jahn, Peter Böttinger, Robert Piencikowski and Lachenmann himself appeared mostly in Musik-Konzepte 61/62. Helmut Lachenmcnm.

62 Shaked, Yuval, ‘“Wie ein Käfer auf dem Rücken zappelnd”. zu Mouvemeut (- vor der Erstarrung-) (1982–84) von Helmut Lachenmann’, MusikTexte 8 (02 1985), pp.9–16 Google Scholar.

63 See Lachenmann's ‘polyphony of order’.

64 ‘Parallel Universes’, Ästhetik und Komposition. Darmstädter Beiträqe zur Neuen Musik 20, ed. Bono, Gianmano, Mosch, Ulrich (Mainz: Schott, 1994), p.22 Google Scholar.