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Catherine Christer HennixSelected Early Keyboard WorksBack to the record
Exclaim!
★★★★

“The early pieces presented here are mesmerizing.”

Kevin Press · 10 September 2018

Swedish-American artist Catherine Christer Hennix has been something of an unsung hero for too long. The composer, philosopher, poet, mathematician and visual artist was an early experimenter in computer music in the 1960s, work that placed her alongside luminaries like La Monte Young and Henry Flynt, with whom she collaborated on numerous occasions.

Perhaps as a result of her multiple talents, she did not achieve real fame in any of her areas of expertise. She studied with Pandit Pran Nath, the raga master. She was a professor of math and computer science. She earned the Centenary Prize Fellow Award by the Clay Mathematics Institute in 2000 for her work with Alexander Esenin-Volpin, a respected Russian mathematician and poet.

Originally published by Exclaim!.Read it on Exclaim!

6 other reviews

Pitchfork

“While some of the most revered minimalist composers and compositions present a calm exterior, these newly discovered efforts of Hennix show us a disquieting—and welcome—new wrinkle to those serene surfaces.”

The Sound Projector

“Unreserved recommendation for this superb release.”

Vital Weekly

“The last piece is ‘Equal Temperament Fender Mix’ on the fourth side takes this tape-delay/tape-loop system further on a Fender piano and it is not easy not to think Terry Riley’s experiments in the mid 60s and Hennix’ piece has a similar haunting, trance like state.”

Brainwashed

“As whole, Selected Early Keyboard Works is a strong collection that illuminates an early and formative phase in Hennix’s development into a formidable and truly unique composer.”

Dusted

“The effect is dizzying, and the message clear; even mathematically flawed tools can yield transcendental results.”

The Wire

“In this, as with The Equal Temperament Fender Mix (which adds a tape delay system), the hallucinatory effect of sustained listening is one of music and matter that creates its own time.”