Henning CHRISTIANSEN
Abschiedssymphonie Op. 177, 1988
Abschiedssymphonie, Op. 177” by Henning Christiansen (with Nam June Paik and Joseph Beuys) co-published with Edition Block as a vinyl LP, format: 12" vinyl record, duration: ~45 minutes (Side A ~25′, Side B ~20′), 500 copies, hand-numbered.
Abschiedssymphonie is a kind of happening-/sound-performance work, recorded live and then edited/released in 1988. It was first performed on 29 November 1985 in the foyer of the University of Fine Arts Hamburg, as the opening concert of the Biennale des Friedens (“Peace Biennale”). Beuys, ill at the time, was not physically present; he participated via telephone. Christiansen and Paik played on two grand pianos and other sound generators; there was a third grand piano with a telephone through which Beuys gave spoken philosophical remarks and instructions for acoustic effects. The title Abschiedssymphonie translates to “Farewell Symphony,” and the work turned out to be Joseph Beuys’s last performance before his death (he died January 1986).
Abschiedssymphonie Op. 177, 1988
Abschiedssymphonie, Op. 177” by Henning Christiansen (with Nam June Paik and Joseph Beuys) co-published with Edition Block as a vinyl LP, format: 12" vinyl record, duration: ~45 minutes (Side A ~25′, Side B ~20′), 500 copies, hand-numbered.
Abschiedssymphonie is a kind of happening-/sound-performance work, recorded live and then edited/released in 1988. It was first performed on 29 November 1985 in the foyer of the University of Fine Arts Hamburg, as the opening concert of the Biennale des Friedens (“Peace Biennale”). Beuys, ill at the time, was not physically present; he participated via telephone. Christiansen and Paik played on two grand pianos and other sound generators; there was a third grand piano with a telephone through which Beuys gave spoken philosophical remarks and instructions for acoustic effects. The title Abschiedssymphonie translates to “Farewell Symphony,” and the work turned out to be Joseph Beuys’s last performance before his death (he died January 1986).