1928-
Karlheinz Stockhausen -- the pioneer composer of Electronic Music, born on August 22, 1928 in Mödrath, Germany, near Cologne. In the 50s, Stockhausen compose music basically using only an oscilator, filter, envelope generator, and a tape machine. Today, electronic music is made with a synthesizer, which is made up of similar components Stockhausen was using.
During the 50s, the tape machine was still a secret German invention. Germany invented the tape machine during WWII and used it as a propaganda tool to broadcast Hitler speeches. Everyone thought all of his broadcasted speeches were live, but really some were pre-recorded to make him sound as if he were in more places than one.
Stockhausen started out as a Classical composer and it's true that most of his compositions are Classical, but he's revolutionary for his contribution to electronic music. His first electronic experiments were made in 1953 when he co-founded the West German Radio Studio for Electronic Music in Cologne. The same year, he composed "Gesang der Jünglinge" and his most well-known composition, "Kontakte" in 1960.
In 1964, he did what no one had tried: Performing Live Electronic Music. It wasn't until the 1970s, did this catch one with rock bands like Pink Floyd, The Steve Miller Band, and Emerson, Lake, & Palmer.
"Kontakte" was the first thing by Stockhausen I heard and I thought that it was amazing. My MIDI teacher played it in class. The first thing I thought of was Kraftwerk (the pioneer techno band) and their 1976 album, RADIOACTIVITY. Then I realized what Kraftwerk was trying to do was capture electronic music in it's earliest form.
Stockhausen was not only an inspiration to Kraftwerk, but to any electronic musician who believed it was more than avante garde. Electronic music represented something revolutionary and truly that's what it has become. It started with people like Stockhausen and has branched into every branch of music: rock, industrial, gothic, techno, house, dance, etc.