time to time played a note obviously not within the capacity of ten fingers but required by the score". Somewhat confusingly, an earlier, orchestral work by Stockhausen was titled "Kontrapunkte" (without the hyphen: "Counterpoints"). This work, suppressed by the composer at the time on grounds that it was unplayable, was drastically recomposed in 1962 and issued under the title Punkte (Points), by which name the original work is also now called. Analysis "A 'punctual' ensemble style using ten soloists divided into six sound groups ((1) flute-bassoon, (2) clarinet–bass clarinet, (3) trumpet-trombone, (4) piano, (5) harp, (6) violin-violoncello) is transformed irregularly but steadily into a soloistic style articulated by 'groups', gradually focussing on the piano part". This version adds progressively longer insertions of denser note groups, often in single instruments, while at the same time gradually replacing more and more long notes with groups of rapid, shorter ones in a technique called Ausmultiplikation. This gradual erosion of the originally sparse texture, reflected in the hyphenated title (meaning "Against Points"), complements three parallel processes already present in the first version: (1) the heterogeneous timbres of the full ensemble are gradually reduced to the "monochrome" of the solo piano; (2) widely fluctuating durations reduce to similar values; (3) wide-ranging dynamics reduce to a generally soft level. This unidirectional process has been compared on the one hand to that of Maurice Ravel's Boléro, and on the other to Haydn's "Farewell" Symphony. Countless minor changes have been introduced in subsequent revisions, the last of which, in January 2004, replaced the A clarinet with the B-flat instrument. Discography In chronological order of recording. Les Concerts du Domaine Musical: IVe Concert—Saison 1956. Anton Webern: Symphonie op. 21; Deux Lieder, op. 8; Quatre Lieder, op. 13. Luigi Nono: Incontri. Karlheinz Stockhausen: Kontra-Punkte. Pierre Boulez: Le marteau sans maitre. Solistes du Domaine Musical; Pierre Boulez, cond. LP recording, 1 sound disc: 33⅓ rpm, monaural, 30 cm. Series: Présence de la musique contemporaine: Serie artistique. Vega C 30 A 66. [Paris]: Vega, 1956. Reissued on CD1 of: Pierre Boulez: Le Domaine Musical, 1956–1967. Vol. 1. CD recording, 5 sound discs: digital, mono, stereo, 12 cm. Accord 476 9209 (set): 476 8858, 476 8859, 476 8860, 476 8861, 476 9210. [France]: Accord; Universal Music France, 2006. The New Music. Karlheinz Stockhausen: Kontra-Punkte; Krzysztof Penderecki: Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima; Earle Brown: Available Forms I; Henri Pousseur: Rimes pour différentes sources