Dec. 7 (Bloomberg) -- Karlheinz Stockhausen, the avant-garde German composer who influenced pop musicians from the Beatles to Bjork, has died aged 79, his Web site reported today.

Stockhausen died Dec. 5 at his home in Kuerten-Kettenberg, the Web site said. His electronic music and ``controlled chance'' sounds led to new styles of computerized and sampled compositions.

Paul McCartney and John Lennon of the Beatles were Stockhausen fans, and the group honored the composer by using his image on the cover of its 1967 album, ``Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.'' The single ``Strawberry Fields Forever'' showed Stockhausen's influence.

He inspired some of the music by Frank Zappa, Pink Floyd, Miles Davis and Brian Eno. His groundbreaking electronic beats found echoes in long compositions by Can, Kraftwerk and Tangerine Dream in the 1970s. Of classical composers, Igor Stravinsky was an admirer, though not an uncritical one. Stockhausen's music was compared to Arnold Schoenberg and Oliver Messiaen before him. He went on with Pierre Boulez to offer a vision of the future.

Stockhausen was seen by some as the greatest German composer since Wagner. To others, his music was empty and devoid of merit. Conductor Thomas Beecham was asked, ``Have you heard any Stockhausen,'' and said, ``No, but I believe I have trodden in some.''

Stockhausen, who was born in 1928 in the village of Moedrath, near Cologne, studied at the National Conservatory of Music and the University of Cologne. He composed 319 individual works during his life, according to his official Web site.

Breakthrough Song

His breakthrough came in 1956, with the release of ``Gesang der Junglinge'' (Song of the Youths), which combined electronic sounds with the human voice, the Guardian newspaper said.

In 1960, he released ``Kontakte'' (Contacts), one of the first compositions to mix live instrumentation with prerecorded material.

He ran into trouble after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks when he was reported to have said the incidents were ``works of art.'' The composer later put out a statement saying his remarks had been taken out of context and misinterpreted.

Stockhausen, who was married twice and had six children, will be buried in the Waldfriedhof (forest cemetery) in Kuerten. A commemorative concert will take place at the Suelztalhalle in Kuerten.

To contact the reporters on this story: Mark Beech in London at mbeech@bloomberg.net; Mark Schoifet in New York at mschoifet@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: December 7, 2007 19:12 EST