Death of a doctrinaire avantgarde composer, 84
RIPThe relentlessly ideological German composer Hans-Joachim Hespos died this week at an advanced age.
The aesthetic rigidity of his music meant he was barely performed outside of his own country but Academy of Arts, Berlin, set up an archive of his works and Opera World named Hespos’ iOPAL as its premiere of the year in 2005.
He wrote either for soo instrument or opera ensemble.
I thoroughly enjoyed that: for me it evoked the recovery room of a busy colonoscopy clinic.
An old joke and a cheap shot. How about RIP? Or condolences to family and friends?
Well said there la pbv.
He was a human being and someone will be mourning their loss.
However, it must also be said that original voice he may have been, but this hard-core stuff will quickly be consigned to the dustbins of history.
I regard myself as having wide tastes and as being willing to give most things a hearing but to quote a well-known tennis personality “ You cannot be serious!” I lasted a while but couldn’t make it to the end of even this one clip, let alone the others found online.
People like this don’t deserve to rest in peace. The damage done to classical music has been tragic.
I knew Hespos in the 80s and he was a very kind and thoughtful person who did no damage to any music but added to it.
I conducted three of Hespos’ orchestral works here in the U.S. His music was like no other. He also wrote in a kind of graphic notation that he himself invented which did make his music sometimes formidable to perform. But each time I performed one of his works, the orchestra (after getting over the initial shock) thoroughly enjoyed the challenge. Orchestra members would sometimes ask me to program another of his works.
Although I never met him personally, we had many email and phone exchanges when I was preparing his music. Hespos was always kind and friendly with a clear vision on how his works should sound. I will miss him.
‘Doctrinaire’ is the last term I’d use for such a wild iconoclast who has a percussionist burning their way out of a metal box with an acetylene torch, or woodwind players haranguing the audience with their instruments, or a performer taking the role of a sports umpire and holding extreme contortionist expressions through the piece, or a performer suddenly madly bouncing a ball around the stage at the end of another piece.
Why have you wasted your life on this rubbish? Why haven’t you grown out of it and sought some depth?
Hope your Brahms book is finally published this year.