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Roland Kayn

Roland Kayn (1933-2011) was a German composer who studied in Stuttgart at the “Hochschule fur Musik”, and at the “Technische Hochschule”  with Max Bense. He was a pupil of of Boris Blacher  at the “Hochschule fur Musik”  in Berlin from 1956 to 1958 and he later worked in various music studios in Germany, Netherlands and Italy. Despite its relative obscurity in the last years of the 20th Century, Kayn’s work can be considered as one of the most emblematic in the realm of cybernetics and in the general contemporary art production related to the electronic medium.

Roland Kayn (1933-2011) was a German composer who studied in Stuttgart at the “Hochschule fur Musik”, and at the “Technische Hochschule”  with Max Bense. He was a pupil of of Boris Blacher  at the “Hochschule fur Musik”  in Berlin from 1956 to 1958 and he later worked in various music studios in Germany, Netherlands and Italy. Despite its relative obscurity in the last years of the 20th Century, Kayn’s work can be considered as one of the most emblematic in the realm of cybernetics and in the general contemporary art production related to the electronic medium.

Invisible Music / Hommage a K. R. H. Sonderborg
Invisible Music (2003) spread over three parts across two discs, followed by Hommage a K. R. H. Sonderborg from the same year. Late Kayn, sound with no visible source, left to a self-regulating electronic system to unfold at its own pace.
Etoile du Nord / Ghyress Für Ilse-Emily Kayn
Two long pieces from 2004: Etoile du Nord in two parts on the first disc, Ghyress für Ilse-Emily Kayn on the second, named for the daughter who would later reawaken her father's label. Among the last titles Kayn issued on Reiger Records Reeks himself…
Requiem pour Patrice Lumumba, Interations, Composizione AD
Issued under Kayn's Multiplex Sound-Art heading: Requiem pour Patrice Lumumba (2002) and Interations (2003) on the first disc, the four-section Composizione AD (2002) and Prismes Reflectes (2002) on the second. Among the most recent pieces the compos…
Ultra / Redundancy TR / Megaphonie
Also under Kayn's Multiplex Sound-Art heading: Ultra (2001) and Redundancy TR (2003) on the first disc, the three-section Megaphonie (2001) on the second. Three of the last pieces Roland Kayn completed and released on his own label.
Werke Für Orchester / Ensemble
Kayn before the machines: orchestral scores from 1957 to 1966 on the first disc, Sequenzen, Aggregate, Vectors I and II, Signals; ensemble works to 1974 on the second, including Phasen for speech sounds and four percussion groups. Premiered at Darmst…
Werke Für Tasteninstrumente 1 - Keyboard Works 1
Kayn's earliest keyboard music in historical recordings: Fünf Kleine Klavierstücke (1952), Divertimento (1955), Quanten (1956) and Fractals (1994) on the first disc; on the second the studio Quanten and Diffusions (1965) for one to four electronic or…
A Little Electronic Milky Way of Sound
**US import** Ian Fenton’s Frozen Reeds label finally unveil this epic, years-in-the-making the release of Roland Kayn’s fourteen-hour masterpiece, A Little Electronic Milky Way of Sound, as a sixteen-CD boxed set. Mind-bending. Edition of 750. Audio…
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