Helmut Lachenmann: The Beauty of Decay

Kate Molleson and Gillian Moore present BBC Radio 3's series exploring the pivotal 'modern' musical works of the 20th century, the groundbreaking composers who created them, and the radical cultural and artistic movements which gave rise to them. In this episode, Gillian explores the remarkable musical aesthetics of the Stuttgart-born composer Helmut Lachenmann, who celebrated his 90th birthday in November 2025.

On our way to a full performance of his piece Mouvement (– vor der Erstarrung) which was first performed in 1984, we'll encounter the composer's personal brand of 'instrumental musique concrète' and discover the transformational impact on Lachenmann of his private studies with Luigi Nono. 'This music embodies a life of setting up and breaking down,' the composer writes of our featured work, 'it is a music of dead movements, practically the last convulsions [...]'

Produced by Sam Phillips
A Reduced Listening production for BBC Radio 3

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