Europa-Gruss, Nr. 72

The idea of composing the Europa-Gruss was first suggested to Stockhausen in August 1991, by the sculptor Helmut Lutz (de) of Breisach. In February of the next year, it was formally commissioned by the mayor of Neuf-Brisach (Breisach’s adjacent French fortress city across the Rhine in Alsace), for the Étoile Sonore Europe Festival, who requested a "Europe Fanfare" or "concerted Europe hymn" (Maconie 2005, 509; Stockhausen 2002, 7 & 34). Originally titled Mittwochs-Gruss, it was briefly meant to be the "greeting" for the opera Mittwoch aus Licht and was initially assigned the work number 65 in the composer’s catalogue of works, immediately preceding the four scenes of the opera (provisionally numbered 66–69). By the time the score was completed on 21 July 1992, Stockhausen had decided against using it in his opera and changed its title, first to Europa-Hymne, and then to its final, published form. In December 1994 Stockhausen re-assigned it the work number 72 (along with other adjustments to the work numbers), and eventually replaced it in the opera with a new “greeting” of electronic music, which took over the number 65 (Frisius 2013, 392–93, 398).