Music by him has been recorded since Stockhausen's death, but his magnum opus, the gigantic opera cycle Light, was not immediately discussed for understandable reasons. With this CD an interesting part of the cycle has now been recorded, the second act of Donnerstag. This opera was Stockhausen's first to work on when he started on the Light cycle, in 1977. After several performances of the entire
… opera, the second act was performed on its own in 2008 - and this is the recording of that event. In fact, this second act is a concerto for trumpet and orchestra. In the story, Michael travels around the earth, visiting seven places. These seven places (Germany, New York, Japan, Bali, India, Central Africa and Jerusalem) each influence the music. Musically there is clearly a lot to experience here: Stockhausen quickly captivates the listener with his limitless inventiveness and musical craftsmanship. It is not easy to follow, the story of the entire Light cycle is extremely obscure, but the music is beautiful. (TC)more
