RFI, S/D: Louis Andriessen

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i found the nonesuch recording of his "de materie" and it surprised me pleasantly. there is something engaging about it that i find lacking in most other contemporary compositions. it manages to carry a strong spirit of play despite occasionally very serious subject matter.

the only other thing ive heard by him is his soundtrack to a short film by hal hartley.

can anyone tell me about him and what other pieces i might seek out? and if anyone has other reactions to "de materie" please share

― amateur!st (amateurist), Wednesday, 21 January 2004 17:31 (twenty-two years ago)

De Tijd, I think is how it's spelled. Excellent, excellent stuff and slower than your 3rd cousin from West Virginia...

― Naive Teen Idol (Naive Teen Idol), Wednesday, 21 January 2004 17:42 (twenty-two years ago)

He always seemed so tired when hosting "Family Feud".

― Pleasant Plains (Pleasant Plains), Wednesday, 21 January 2004 21:38 (twenty-two years ago)

W-w-woooooT?

― t\'\'t (t\'\'t), Wednesday, 21 January 2004 23:37 (twenty-two years ago)

It's an obvious choice, but I'd go for 'De Staat' next, then check out the Kronos Quartet's version of 'Hocketus' which is minimalist weirdness par excellence. Especially if you sit right between the speakers and turn the bastard up really loud.

Oh, it's on their (Kronos') 'Industry' CD.

― mzui, Wednesday, 21 January 2004 23:45 (twenty-two years ago)

http://www.vegas.com/shows/anderson.jpg

― JaXoN (JasonD), Thursday, 22 January 2004 00:09 (twenty-two years ago)

"Zilver" is nice. Nice balance between ponderousness and delicacy (?), nice harmonies/textures. "Workers' Union" is pretty good too, with its incessant pounding. I didn't really like "Hocketus" the one time I heard it but my opinion might change.

― sundar subramanian (sundar), Thursday, 22 January 2004 00:12 (twenty-two years ago)

Your guess is as good as mine...

http://utopia.knoware.nl/users/vanderwa/strips/louis.jpg

― mzui, Thursday, 22 January 2004 13:53 (twenty-two years ago)

I don't think I've ever heard anything by him. I'd be interested to partly because he was one of those "Stockhausen Serves Imperialism" tail-chasers in the late 60s/ early 70s.

― Dadaismus (Dada), Thursday, 22 January 2004 13:57 (twenty-two years ago)

what do you mean by that?

i know andriessen (god the spelling of his name is difficult for me) is critical of those avant gardists who pushed really hard in one (increasingly theory-dictated) direction, like stockhausen and even shoenberg.

― amateur!st (amateurist), Friday, 23 January 2004 10:24 (twenty-two years ago)

oh do you mean modernism being the new language of official high art a la jackson pollack etc. being used as a barometer of "freedom" in the west versus the rigidities of soviet art? that sort of thing?

― amateur!st (amateurist), Friday, 23 January 2004 10:25 (twenty-two years ago)

I was thinking more in terms of a Marxist like Andriessen wasting his time harassing harmless German lunatics when he should have been out doing something to change the world.

― Dadaismus (Dada), Friday, 23 January 2004 11:18 (twenty-two years ago)

"Workers' Union"

― Rockist Scientist, Friday, 23 January 2004 20:04 (twenty-two years ago)

Sorry to be so cryptic. Hit submit too soon.

I think I saw Relache perform that one, and it was--OKAY.

― Rockist Scientist, Friday, 23 January 2004 20:04 (twenty-two years ago)

six months pass...

i still don't have the background to understand Dadaismus's comments. can someone fill it in for me?

also, for someone who really like de materie--what else (not necessarily by andriessen) would i like???

― amateur!!!st, Wednesday, 18 August 2004 16:37 (twenty-one years ago)

I can't find anything about it on the interweb but I remember reading that a Stockhausen performance in Amsterdam in 1969/1970 (probably of something from "Aus den Sieben Tagen") was disrupted by members of the audience objecting to Stockhausen's authoritarianism or sumthin'. Supposedly Andriessen was involved. Will check this out further.

― Dadaismus (Dada), Wednesday, 18 August 2004 17:13 (twenty-one years ago)

That Bang On a Can Andriessen disc is quite good...

― Naive Teen Idol (Naive Teen Idol), Thursday, 19 August 2004 02:57 (twenty-one years ago)

>I think I saw Relache perform that one, and it was--OKAY.

oh man. Relache should put that on their t-shirts.

― (Jon L), Thursday, 19 August 2004 04:11 (twenty-one years ago)

The disc _Zilver_ by California Ear Unit is quite nice.

― sundar subramanian (sundar), Thursday, 19 August 2004 04:20 (twenty-one years ago)

Re: Andreissen v. Stockhausen. The full story is recounted by Stockhausen in "Stockhausen: Conversations With the Composer" by Jonathan Cott. Briefly, a performance of "Stimmung" in Amsterdam in 1969 was interrupted by heckling and noises from the audience. Noticing that it was affecting the musicians, Stockhausen stopped the performance and asked for quiet. Within minutes of re-starting however, the noise began again so Stockhausen stopped the performance again and asked the musicians to leave. At this point a crowd of people rushed the stage, commandeering the microphones to proclaim some kind of political and musical manifesto and begin a group discussion (the performance was being broadcast on Dutch radio). As one of those onstage stated: "What does it mean if in music performed today I can't react the way I want? I felt that I should make these sounds and if the music doesn't accept it, then it shouldn't be performed. The music is authoritarian." Backstage, Stockhausen was then asked by Louis Andriessen, one of the stage invaders, to come back and defend himself. Stockhausen refused, saying, "If you don't let me finish my musical phrase, I don't think I should have a discussion with you." Andriessen was "furious" and went back onstage to announce that Stockhausen refused to talk to them. The incident was reported on German radio as a "political action against Stockhausen's too authoritarian music".

So if you're ever at a Louis Andriessen concert and feel the urge to blow a few raspberries then go right ahead as I'm assuming his music accepts all sounds. Further, if some of the concert staff come over and ask you to be please be quiet, simply state, "What does it mean if in music performed today I can't react the way I want? I felt that I should make these sounds and if the music doesn't accept it, then it shouldn't be performed. The music is authoritarian." Of course, you'll still end up out on yer arse on the pavement.

― Dadaismus (Dada), Thursday, 19 August 2004 08:49 (twenty-one years ago)

Yeah, the Bang on A Can crowd (Michael Gordon, David Lang, et al) are Andriessen disciples, so they are a good place to go for further exploration.

The only time I've heard Andriessen was when he played piano accompanying a Dutch vocal improviser, Greetje Bijma, at the Lincoln Center festival honoring him earlier this year. They did seem eager to break down traditional performer/audience barriers. They did things like walking around amongst the audience, stopping songs to make jokes, and generally acting informal and casual. Of course it was a cabaret night, and I imagine the atmosphere was different during the other concerts.

― o. nate (onate), Thursday, 19 August 2004 08:57 (twenty-one years ago)

sixteen years pass...

RIP :(

― xyzzzz__, Thursday, 1 July 2021 13:41 (four years ago)

RIP. I heard he had Alzheimer's. It's been a bad week for composers of his generation.

― KEEP HONKING -- I'M BOBOING (Boring, Maryland), Thursday, 1 July 2021 14:19 (four years ago)

Yes, and of a particular political persuasion too

― xyzzzz__, Thursday, 1 July 2021 19:06 (four years ago)

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