Iannis Xenakis (1922-2001)

Started by gomro, May 10, 2007, 01:54:54 PM

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CRCulver

Quote from: Mandryka on January 29, 2021, 01:04:02 PM
The new Legende d'eer on the same label is also worth exploring I think.

This is not a surround-sound release of this very spatialized work, so what is the point of this when a fine stereo-only recording was already released on Naïve? I wish someone would do a Bluray release, that would be worth getting. The Mode DVD, like all of their surround-sound releases, has a relatively low-quality codec and one would wish for lossless sound.

Mandryka

#661
Quote from: CRCulver on January 29, 2021, 01:09:42 PM
This is not a surround-sound release of this very spatialized work, so what is the point of this when a fine stereo-only recording was already released on Naïve? I wish someone would do a Bluray release, that would be worth getting. The Mode DVD, like all of their surround-sound releases, has a relatively low-quality codec and one would wish for lossless sound.

The point is as follows:

Quotethis now is a new version, using the 8-track-version that XENAKIS himself presented at Darmstädter Ferienkurse in august 1978. As the automatic spatialization is lost, this became the only original version of this composition and is presented here (mixed down to stereo by MARTIN WURMNEST who tried to preserve the spatial movements as perceptible as possible – mastered by RASHAD BECKER at D&M) for the very first time.

Re specialisation, people tell me that new ideas about binaural mastering are better at capturing the feeling of sound coming from several places than regular stereo through room speakers. That's the way to go I think. Richard Barrett has been working on this.

I get the impression that a lot less is known about Xenakis's mixing, there's a lot of scope for new ideas about how to mix the master tapes.
Wovon man nicht sprechen kann, darüber muss man schweigen

CRCulver

Quote from: Mandryka on January 29, 2021, 01:21:59 PM
Re specialisation, people tell me that new ideas about binaural mastering are better at capturing the feeling of sound coming from several places than regular stereo through room speakers. That's the way to go I think. Richard Barrett has been working on this.

Binaural masterings assume that one is sitting precisely between two stereo sources. However, originally La légende d'Eer was presented in a venue where people could walk around, move closer to some sound sources than others. A 5.0 release would better that.

Thanks for the blurb about what makes this new release distinctive.

bhodges

From Feb. 2-10, Musica nova Helsinki is doing some Xenakis, livestreamed at the link below. Also music from Simon Steen-Andersen and Lisa Streich, the festival's composers-in-residence.

https://musicanova.fi/en/

--Bruce


T. D.

Quote from: Mandryka on February 07, 2021, 06:19:25 AM
Formalized Music

https://uberty.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Xenakis_Iannis_Formalized_Music_Thought_and_Mathematics_in_Composition.compressed.pdf

Thanks. I have a background in math and statistics/probability, so this is interesting reading.
Years ago, I saw a snippet of FORTRAN code that implemented one of Xenakis's ideas. It found it really simplistic, just a Gaussian random walk. The booklet you linked to furnishes background and treats more topics.

Mandryka

Quote from: T. D. on February 07, 2021, 12:14:07 PM
Thanks. I have a background in math and statistics/probability, so this is interesting reading.
Years ago, I saw a snippet of FORTRAN code that implemented one of Xenakis's ideas. It found it really simplistic, just a Gaussian random walk. The booklet you linked to furnishes background and treats more topics.

The thing which caught my attention wasn't so much the maths but the account of the development of music at the start -- his discussion of serialism and polyphony. Really there's a lot in common between Xenakis and Ligeti.
Wovon man nicht sprechen kann, darüber muss man schweigen

Symphonic Addict

Jonchaies has to be one of the most hair-rising, coruscating, thrilling as hell and virtuosic orchestral pieces ever written. F*ck! A rollercoaster of a work!!

Are there any works similar like this in his output?
Part of the tragedy of the Palestinians is that they have essentially no international support for a good reason: they've no wealth, they've no power, so they've no rights.

Noam Chomsky

Mirror Image

Quote from: Symphonic Addict on September 05, 2021, 04:54:53 PM
Jonchaies has to be one of the most hair-rising, coruscating, thrilling as hell and virtuosic orchestral pieces ever written. F*ck! A rollercoaster of a work!!

Are there any works similar like this in his output?

You might want to give Hiketides a listen. It's not a non-stop rollercoaster ride, but it does show a different side of the composer towards the end of the work when there is some poignant lyricism brought to the fore. I think you'll dig it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4Lx1rbo8wI

Symphonic Addict

Quote from: Mirror Image on September 05, 2021, 07:24:45 PM
You might want to give Hiketides a listen. It's not a non-stop rollercoaster ride, but it does show a different side of the composer towards the end of the work when there is some poignant lyricism brought to the fore. I think you'll dig it:

https://www.youtube.com/v/r4Lx1rbo8wI

Thank you, John. I'm kind of eager to listen to more of his works. His style may be absolutely visceral and dissonant at times, but there is also an important element about creativity and how handling textures. A fascinating figure of the 20th century.
Part of the tragedy of the Palestinians is that they have essentially no international support for a good reason: they've no wealth, they've no power, so they've no rights.

Noam Chomsky

Mirror Image

Quote from: Symphonic Addict on September 05, 2021, 08:54:10 PM
Thank you, John. I'm kind of eager to listen to more of his works. His style may be absolutely visceral and dissonant at times, but there is also an important element about creativity and how handling textures. A fascinating figure of the 20th century.

You're welcome. I was lucky to have bought a good bit of Xenakis for a several years for good prices and I've been thrilled with a lot of what I've heard so far. It's rather interesting that he was one of Messiaen's students.

bhodges

Quote from: Symphonic Addict on September 05, 2021, 08:54:10 PM
Thank you, John. I'm kind of eager to listen to more of his works. His style may be absolutely visceral and dissonant at times, but there is also an important element about creativity and how handling textures. A fascinating figure of the 20th century.

Of his four string quartets (all interesting), I'm most attracted to Tetras (1983). Here are two versions, one by the JACK Quartet, who have recorded all four and performed them widely, and a second by the Arditti Quartet, from their Gramavision recording, synced with the score (if you like following along).

JACK Quartet
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCVx_XwRaRU

Arditti Quartet
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLdMRvHa480

--Bruce

bhodges

Meanwhile, a nice overview of the composer from Liam Cagney in The Spectator.

https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/the-genius-of-Iannis-xenakis

--Bruce

bhodges

This Sunday at 2:00pm (EDT), the Philadelphia-based organization Bowerbird presents an online talk by Daniel Teige on his recent Xenakis research, followed by a screening of the documentary Persépolis (1971, 54 mins., dir. Pierre Andrégui). Registration is required, pay what you wish.

https://www.bowerbird.org/event/xenakis-persepolis/

--Bruce

bhodges

For what would have been the 100th birthday of Iannis Xenakis, so many choices. Here are Les Percussions de Strasbourg in performances of Pléïades (1978) and Persephassa (1969), both written for the ensemble and recorded earlier this year.

https://www.arte.tv/de/videos/107811-000-A/iannis-xenakis-pleiades-persephassa/

--Bruce

Mandryka

Is there a recording of The Bacchae?
Wovon man nicht sprechen kann, darüber muss man schweigen

Mandryka

Wovon man nicht sprechen kann, darüber muss man schweigen