Xenakis: Achorripsis

Iannis Xenakis was born in Romania in 1922 of Greek parents. In 1932 his family moved back to Greece where he commenced his studies, eventually specialising in engineering and architecture: in music he was largely self-taught. During WWII Xenakis was a member of the Resistance in Greece and, in 1945, sustained a severe facial injury that resulted in the loss of sight in one eye. Sentenced to death by the post-war right-wing Greek government, Xenakis escaped Greece with the intention of reaching the USA, but on arrival in France, in 1947, he settled there and became a French citizen.

In France Xenakis took up studies with some of the most prominent composers at work in Paris at the time, including Honneger, Milhaud and then, most importantly, Messiaen. He met the architect Le Corbusier who employed his engineering skills and then took him into collaboration. It was whilst with Le Corbusier that Xenakis worked on some important architectural projects, one of the most notable being the design of the Philips pavillion at the 1958 Brussels Exposition.

During the 1950s music became Xenakis' increasing preoccupation and, with the encouragement of Messiaen, in 1953-54, he produced Metastasis, his first major work for orchestra. During the 1950s Xenakis pioneered electronic and computer music and became a major voice in the music world and many younger composers came under his influence, notably Penderecki and Takemitsu, who both acknowledged this influence. Xenakis died in Paris on 4 February 2001.

The works on these two discs were all written in the 1950s & 60s, at a time when Xenakis was at his most productive. It has to be said that, to the casual listener, this is not easy listening. However, to the more adventurous collector and to those prepared to explore new musical avenues, this set of the music of Xenakis will prove a rare and valuable opportunity.

The 18 LPs of Earle Brown's legendary Contemporary Sound Series, now re-released by WERGO on CD (six 3-CD sets), have become a rarity in great demand. 'Earle Brown – A Life in Music – Vol. 4' is the most recent CD set in this unique series presented by WERGO.

CD 1 contains three stylistically quite different string quartets by Pierre Boulez, Giacinto Scelsi and Earle Brown himself, performed by the ensembles Quatuor Parrenin, Hamann Quartet, Quartetto di Nuova Musica, and the New York String Quartet.

CD 2 focuses on works for chamber orchestra by Iannis Xenakis, Aldo Clementi, Bo Nilsson, Wlodzimierz Kotonski, and Yuji Takahashi; apart from them, the first recording of Arnold Schoenberg's 'Drei Stücke' is outstanding as well. The works were performed by the International Kranichsteiner Kammerensemble under the direction of Bruno Maderna, the Hamburger Kammersolisten under the direction of Francis Travis, as well as the exceptional violinist Paul Zukofsky.

CD 3 presents four works premiered by the Hamburger Kammersolisten: 'Études contrapuntiques' by Milko Kelemen, 'Tropi' by Niccolò Castiglioni, 'Serenata' by Vittorio Fellegara and 'Musik für sieben Instrumente' by Isang Yun.

This is a perfect and unique kaleidoscope in the recorded catalogue, of what will have been Xenakis’ inestimable contribution to orchestral music in the latter half of the 20th Century. The listener is surrounded by sound, immersed and taken into a universe unlike any other. This collection of five discs represents the major part of his output, with some works now firmly set in the orchestral repertoire, such as Jonchaies, Lichens, Aïs and Synaphaï.

‘This is viscerally exciting music’ BBC Music Magazine

‘Strongly recommended’ Gramophone Awards