Realizing Lucier and Stockhausen: Case studies in electroacoustic performance practice

The author’s realizations of Alvin Lucier’s “I am sitting in a room” and Karlheinz Stockhausen’s Mikrophonie I are considered as case studies in the realization of live electroacoustic music. The new realizations, while faithful to the works’ scores, differed from the composers’ traditions of performance. Lucier’s piece was realized in real-time, a new set of implements and playing techniques were developed for Stockhausen’s, and analog electronics were reproduced in software for both works. The author suggests that realization requires a practical approach, balancing textual fidelity, musical effectiveness, and pragmatism.