Karlheinz Stockhausen

Listening Guide.

The fifth out of a series of nineteen piano pieces by central Darmstadt figure Stockhausen was premiered at Darmstadt in 1954. Although No. 5 makes use of the 261435 tone row like the others in the same set (No. 6-10), Stockhausen also incorporated other series in the No. 5. The piece has a crystalline texture comprising rapid pointillistic grace notes that gravitate around sustained notes. No. 5 has been described by Richard Toop as the modern counterpart of the Chopin nocturne.