Karlheinz Stockhausen

Karlheinz Stockhausen (born August 22 1928) is a contemporary composer.

September 11, 2001 terrorist attack statement controversy

After the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States, Stockhausen was alleged to have made the statement that the attacks were works of art. In a subsequent message, he stated that the press had hideously misinterpreted his meaning, and clarified as follows:

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:At the press conference in Hamburg, I was asked if MICHAEL, EVE and LUCIFER were historical figures of the past and I answered that they exist now, for example Lucifer in New York. In my work, I have defined Lucifer as the cosmic spirit of rebellion, of anarchy. He uses his high degree of intelligence to destroy creation. He does not know love. After further questions about the events in America, I said that such a plan appeared to be Lucifer's greatest work of art. Of course I used the designation "work of art" to mean the work of destruction personified in Lucifer. In the context of my other comments this was unequivocal. (http://www.stockhausen.org/message_from_karlheinz.html)

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