Stockhausen Courses
Trumpet courses by Marco Blaauw
Stockhausen Courses Kuerten 2005
For the past two years, the trumpet player Marco Blaauw has taught the trumpet class during the annual Stockhausen Courses Kürten, which will take place this year from July 30th – August 7th. He is thus perpetuating the training which was initiated by my son Markus Stockhausen in 1998 and carried on by Bill Forman in 2002.
For many years, first as a student of Markus Stockhausen (and as one of the four trumpeters in the ‘MICHAEL Trumpeters’ ensemble), Marco Blaauw learned to play my works and has played them beautifully in many wonderful performances.
Already in the world première of my work, TUESDAY from LIGHT at the Leipzig Opera in 1993, he performed soloistically and in the ensemble of trumpeters acting scenically particularly in the TUESDAY GREETING and in Act II, INVASION – EXPLOSION. Since then, he has performed excellently as soloist in several world premières of works from my opera cycle LICHT (LIGHT) – often by memory while acting, most notably in the very demanding work MICHAELION in 1998 at the Prinzregenten Theatre in Munich, and most recently in LICHT-BILDER (LIGHT PICTURES) during the Donaueschingen Music Days 2004.
Performances by Marco Blaauw – for example of the works OBERLIPPENTANZ (UPPER-LIP-DANCE), ARIES and PIETÀ (both synchronous with electronic music), and his CD recordings of VISION, HOCH-ZEITEN, and LICHT-BILDER demonstrate the high quality of his playing.
Marco is capable not only of interpreting the many works which I composed for trumpet – after an incredible number of rehearsals together – but can also teach them to other trumpeters.
This includes training the basic trumpet playing technique necessary for interpreting my works such as resonance-, breathing- and embouchure- technique, physical training, stamina, performing by memory, etc., as well as areas in which he is especially well-developed such as mute technique, command of micro-scales and chromatic tempo scales, microphoning the instrument, and the art of moving as instrumental actors.
In this context, it is important to note that in his trumpet course he has also helped other brass players to interpret my works, for example IN FREUNDSCHAFT for horn.
The trumpet is – next to the clarinet – basset horn – bass clarinet, flute – alto flute – piccolo, trombone, piano, synthesizer and percussion, one of the principal instruments in my compositions.
That is why it is, by all means, meaningful for all trumpet players to learn these works and the modern art of interpretation which is linked with them. The day will come when several trumpet players at once will be in demand who can play and – someday – also can teach these works.
Through the work SIRIUS, but especially through LICHT, the trumpet has become the holy Michael-instrument.
Karlheinz Stockhausen, May 10th 2005
Information: Lilly Schwerdtfeger, Luxemburger Str. 266, 50937 Köln
Tel.: +49-(0)221-49 58 63, Fax: +49-(0)221-8006873
e-mail:
Stockhausen-Verlag, 51515 Kürten, Germany
Fax: +49 (0) 2268-1813
or
Marco Blaauw – contact form