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Composer Mauricio Kagel Dies at 76 in Germany

DPA news agency (kjb)September 19, 2008

Argentinian-born Mauricio Kagel, one of the most important composers of the 20th century, died Thursday, Sept. 18, in Cologne at the age of 76.

https://p.dw.com/p/FLCb
Mauricio Kagel
Kagel was born in Argentina but lived most of his life in GermanyImage: picture alliance/dpa

Kagel's 200 works of contemporary classical music dispensed with harmony and singable melodies and were aimed at high-brows who enjoyed his musical jokes. One piece featured the sound of a toilet flushing.

Born 1931 in Buenos Aires, Kagel moved to Germany in 1957 and became professor of "new music" at Cologne's Music College in 1975.

His music publisher, C.F. Peters Musikverlag, said in Frankfurt that he died after a long illness.

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