Pianist Herbert Henck has Died, Aged 76

Henck gave premiere performances and made recordings of works by Stockhausen and Ligeti, among others

The German pianist Herbert Henck, who was considered one of the twentieth century's most prominent contemporary music specialists, has passed away at the age of 76.

Born in Treysa, Germany in 1948, Henck studied in Mannheim, Stuttgart, and Cologne. He established himself as a specialist in contemporary music early in his career, and contributed to the new-music scene as a writer as well — publishing five yearbooks throughout the 1980s titled Neuland, which dealt with "Approaches to Contemporary Music".

After meeting with Karlheinz Stockhausen, Henck gave the world premiere of the composer's Goldstaub (Aus den sieben Tagen) and recorded it for Deutsche Grammophon in 1973.

He received the Kranichstein Music Prize for his interpretation of Piano Piece X. For his first solo record, Henck opted to perform Charles Ives’ Concord Sonata, and the disc came out on the Wergo label in 1978. He was to make more than fifty recordings over the course of his career.

Many of the twentieth century's most prominent composers entrusted Henck with the premieres of their works, including Walter Zimmermann (Beginner’s Mind), Wolfgang Rihm (Piano Piece No. 5), and György Ligeti (Piano Etudes 1 and 2).

Henck also published a number of books, and these covered topics such as Stockhausen’s piano music, experimental pianism, and the Transylvanian composer Norbert von Hannenheim.

Henck's other great love was improvisation. Of this practice he said "this yearning for and delight in the unforeseen will originate spontaneously or not at all. Like the writing of poetry, it cannot be forced, taught or studied, because it is not a matter of technical prowess routinely applied, but of expressive powers."

"Whether one considers the improvisational output beautiful, whether it pleases the listener or not, is secondary. What takes priority, I believe, is the creator’s joy in what has been created, the knowledge that music can express the movements of the soul. That sound is able to convey the message entrusted to it is, finally, all that matters."

Our condolences to Heck's family, friends, and colleagues.