DIE REIHE

The English language edition of one of the most important contemporary music periodicals , which began publication in German in 1954 out of the circle of composers which coalesced around the Nordwestdeutscher Rundfunk (NWDR). The covers are brilliantly and minimally designed by the important Austrian designer Willi Bahner. The contributors are largely European, though John Cage offers several important texts. The periodical was the most important English language source of information for European experimental and serial music, though this English language version was often contentiously received by English language readers. The periodical came to an end after a falling out between the two editors, with the epic issue no. 8. To the credit of the periodical, one of the most bitter attacks on the magazine was published in die Reihe itself, an attack on work by Stockhausen by the Dutch physicist Adriaan Fokker - a fitting coda to a provocative and contentious periodical. Each issue was devoted to articles on a particular theme. No. 1 - Electronic Music, No. 2 - Anton Webern, No. 3 - Musical Craftmanship, 4. Young Composers, 5. Reports Analyses, 6. Speech and Music, 7. Form-Space, and 8. Retrospective. More detailed contents on request.