The Composer
The earliest piece by Mauricio Kagel to have been published by Universal Edition was the Sexteto de Cuerdas (1953-1957). The Spanish title is an indication that it was composed before Kagel left Argentina to live in Germany. The world premiere took place in Darmstadt, in 1958, a year after he settled in Cologne. For a few years, he continued to give his pieces Spanish titles (such as Transición II for piano, percussion and two tapes, written in 1958-1959).
However, unlike the string sextet, Transición II is accompanied, beyond the basic data of instrumentation, duration and year(s) of composition, by detailed instructions concerning performance. All future works were to be similarly [...]
