Xenakis Research Papers - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Το άρθρο παρουσιάζει, τεκμηριώνει, εικονογραφεί και ερμηνεύει το σπίτι που σχεδίασε ο Ιάννης Ξενάκης στην Αμοργό για το μουσικoσυνθέτη Francois Masche το 1966. Η ανάλυση του κτιρίου επικεντρώνεται στις θεωρίες του Ξενάκη για την επιστήμη... more

Το άρθρο παρουσιάζει, τεκμηριώνει, εικονογραφεί και ερμηνεύει το σπίτι που σχεδίασε ο Ιάννης Ξενάκης στην Αμοργό για το μουσικoσυνθέτη Francois Masche το 1966.
Η ανάλυση του κτιρίου επικεντρώνεται στις θεωρίες του Ξενάκη για την επιστήμη της γενικής μορφολογίας, στη στοχαστική, στη σχέση παράδοσης με την καινοτομία. Η μορφολογία της κατοικίας συζητείται σε σχέση με τα έργα του Ξενάκη σε συνεργασία με το Le Corbusier καθώς και τη σειρά εγκαταστάσεων του Πολύτοπα. Το άρθρο εικονογραφείται με φωτογραφίες της συγγραφέως κατά την επίσκεψη της στην κατοικία το 2000.

Visualizing Macrocompositional Dynamics in the Works of Iannis Xenakis Charles Turner, Doctoral Candidate, Graduate Center, City University of New York, New York Marcel Hendrix, Universitair Hoofd Docent , Eindhoven Technical... more

Στην περίοδο 1953-55 στο Παρίσι, στο δημιουργικό περιβάλλον της Rue des Sevres 35, κάτω από το άγρυπνο βλέμμα του ηλικιωμένου πλέον στοχαστή, περιηγητή, ζωγράφου και υπερ-αρχιτέκτονα συντελείται μια μετάβαση. Ο Ξενάκης- μηχανικός γίνεται... more

Στην περίοδο 1953-55 στο Παρίσι, στο δημιουργικό περιβάλλον της Rue des Sevres 35, κάτω από το άγρυπνο βλέμμα του ηλικιωμένου πλέον στοχαστή, περιηγητή, ζωγράφου και υπερ-αρχιτέκτονα συντελείται μια μετάβαση. Ο Ξενάκης- μηχανικός γίνεται Ξενάκης-αρχιτέκτων, γίνεται Ξενάκης-μουσικός. Σύμφωνα με τη βιογράφο του μόλις το 1954 οπότε και ολοκληρώνει την πρώτη του μουσική σύνθεση ‘Μεταστάσεις’ αρχίζει ο Ξενάκης να παίρνει σοβαρά τον εαυτό του ως μουσικό. Η έλλειψη επίσημων μουσικών σπουδών στερεί τον Ξενάκη από τις παραδοσιακές τεχνικές και δεξιότητες της τέχνης αυτής. Παράλληλα τον απελευθερώνει στην προσέγγιση της μουσικής σύνθεσης ωθώντας τον προς μια ριζοσπαστική εννοιολογική προσέγγιση. Ενεργοποιεί τα εργαλεία που κατέχει, αφαιρετική σκέψη, μαθηματικό λογισμό, σχέδιο. Η τριβή του με την αρχιτεκτονική, όπου διερευνά σχέσεις μεταξύ μορφής, οργανωτικής δομής και διαθέσιμου υλικού, γίνεται διάμεση οδός προς τη μουσική σύνθεση. Το δοκίμιο εστιάζει σε αυτή την παρένθεση της εργοβιογραφίας του, στην περίοδο της ανάδυσης του Ξενάκη συνθέτη.

This paper introduces polytempic polymicrotonality as a new musical aesthetic. Microtonality is the basis for its inception, from which the discussion proposes music with more than one microtonal tuning system. Examples from the... more

This paper introduces polytempic polymicrotonality as a new musical aesthetic. Microtonality is the basis for its inception, from which the discussion proposes music with more than one microtonal tuning system. Examples from the literature are discussed to give an historic framework showing that this tendency has been present throughout human musical history. Polytempo is a tool for which polymicrotonal structures can function in relief from its background. Polytempo acts as a frame, or ground structure, that is multi-dimensional, akin to the advancement of perspective in Renaissance art. Examples of music literature are displayed for musical precedence in this area, focusing on Charles Ives’s Universe Symphony, unfinished since 1925, and realized recently by Johnny Reinhard in 1996.

Despite the still-prevalent but essentially nineteenth century perception of the Western creative artist, an algorithmic approach to music composition has been in evidence in Western classical music for at least one thousand years. The... more

Despite the still-prevalent but essentially nineteenth century perception of
the Western creative artist, an algorithmic approach to music composition has been in
evidence in Western classical music for at least one thousand years. The
history of algorithmic composition---from both before and after the invention
of the digital computer---will be presented along with specific techniques and
musical examples from the distant and recent past.

As early as Metastasis, Xenakis’ rhythmic writing appears very different from this of Western tradition and also from contemporaries. Theoretically, its background is a new conception of musical time, in which there is no preliminary... more

As early as Metastasis, Xenakis’ rhythmic writing appears very different from this of Western tradition and also from contemporaries. Theoretically, its background is a new conception of musical time, in which there is no preliminary metric structure. The originality of the xenakian rhythmic conception appears in two main points : the lack of rhythmic figures and the development of specific polyrythmic schemes. They introduce new rhythmic concepts which determine new compositional goals: differential duration, density, speed, cinematic. It is at that point possible to draw up a classification of the different polyrhythmic categories created and used by Xenakis, their evolution leading actually towards a simplification. Therefore this problematic of the rhythm in xenakian works is showed in a synchronic, systemic and diachronic way.
On the other hand, rhythm appears as a leading factor in the forming of textures and of this so particular « xenakian sound ». Finally, the study of rhythm gives the opportunity to examine the position of formalization in the xenakian composition process. Certain rhythmic categories were invented long before their mathematical formalizations were enounced, and this prove the priority of the musical idea ; but formalization seems to work as an archetype, beyond such scientific criterias as correctness and validation.

L’analisi della musica è una disciplina intermedia tra l’estetica musicale e la teoria della composizione. Rispetto a quest’ultima l’analisi è strumento utile per estrapolare i processi compositivi e trarne un possibile algoritmo. Questo... more

L’analisi della musica è una disciplina intermedia tra l’estetica musicale e la teoria della composizione. Rispetto a quest’ultima l’analisi è strumento utile per estrapolare i processi compositivi e trarne un possibile algoritmo. Questo articolo propone, senza pretesa di esaustività, degli esempi applicativi con PWGL, passando in rassegna alcune delle tecniche del Novecento. Le conseguenze e gli ulteriori possibili sviluppi di un lavoro qui appena impostato possono essere molteplici: la conservazione e la trasmissione di un patrimonio storico e musicale che in alcuni casi potrebbe non avere la diffusione che merita o addirittura andare perso; un diverso approccio alla didattica della composizione; una maggiore consapevolezza dell’evoluzione del pensiero e delle tecniche compositive dell’ultimo secolo; un potenziamento del fare compositivo individuale, con maggiore possibilit`a di concentrazione sui processi; l’interazione, attraverso opportune librerie e patch, con altri software.

An interview with the JACK String Quartet about their origins, their approaches to interpretation, their preparation and performance of Robert Morris's two quartets Arc (1988) and Allegro Appassionato (2009), the influence of Morris on... more

An interview with the JACK String Quartet about their origins, their approaches to interpretation, their preparation and performance of Robert Morris's two quartets Arc (1988) and Allegro Appassionato (2009), the influence of Morris on them, as well as their performance of repertoire by Lachenmann, Xenakis, and Rihm. http://www.perspectivesofnewmusic.org/TOC522.pdf

Technological advances in music since 1945 have served as a binding agent of diverging musical styles. Pioneers like Karlheinz Stockhausen, Iannis Xenakis and Milton Babbitt were able to create works that explored developing trends in... more

Technological advances in music since 1945 have served as a binding agent of diverging musical styles. Pioneers like Karlheinz Stockhausen, Iannis Xenakis and Milton Babbitt were able to create works that explored developing trends in music composition, like integral serialism, in a medium that allowed them total control. Modern developments in computers, the RCA Mark II Synthesizer that Babbitt famously worked with for one, enabled composers to imagine, and create music that may have otherwise been outside the realm of possibility.
Xenakis’ explorations of the possibilities of musique concréte while working with Pierre Schaeffer’s Groupe de Recherches de Musique concréte beginning in 1954 allowed him to apply his knowledge of architecture and interest in mathematics to study the components of sound in the studio. According to Xenakis himself he sought “to arrive at a body of sound like white noise; to study the evolution of timbres, dynamics and register...to make chromosomes of attacks.” These micro-explorations of sound and sound manipulation would not have been possible outside the electronic music studio.
Morton Subotnick’s work with the Don Buchla’s analog synthesizer during the creation of “Silver Apples of the Moon” gave way to a career deeply rooted in not only the development of further music technologies, but also music and performance that utilized such technologies as an outgrowth of the composer’s own evolution. Subotnick’s recent performances have grown to include the use of the computer program Max/MSP, allowing him to create compositions in front of an audience that may have taken months, or been completely impossible only years before. In his own words, from “The Music and Musicians of the Future”, working in the medium of electronic music allows “the composer [to] be the performer and the audience.” This live performance and spontaneous composition of electronic music brings Subotnick closer to the realm of popular music in spite of his classical music training and background.
This merging of genres can be seen from the other direction too. Current artists Dan Deacon, Girl Talk, Mindflayer and Autechre take different approaches to the creation of music, with electronics being the agent that binds them. Girl Talk uses pre-existing popular music as source material for his own compositions. Moving beyond the genre of the traditional mash-up, Girl Talk stretches, cuts, loops, pitch shifts and otherwise folds music into itself to create wholly new works. Meanwhile Dan Deacon takes a much more low-tech approach, manipulating electronic sounds through guitar effects processors and iPods. Mindflayer takes a noise-centric approach with electronics combined with live drums to create a confrontational aesthetic. Finally Autechre crafts complex electronic compositions with a rhythmic complexity akin to Conlon Nancarrow.
In my paper I will explore the merging of “serious” music with the aforementioned “popular” music artists and how their developments effect each other in a symbiotic relationship that seeks to push the bounds of music composition and the line between their respective genres through the differing uses of various new developments in music technology.

“Xenakis as Teacher” A Preliminary Proposal for the Forum Xenakis: Past, Present, Future BxmC, Polytechnic Institute of NYU, Brooklyn, NY January 29–31, 2010 Charles Turner The Graduate Center, CUNY “It didn't take me long to... more

This study examines aspects of the structure of Xenakis’s Achorripsis, using the fully notated score as its point of departure. Some of the analytical techniques used in this study are adapted from methods for the prolongational... more

This study examines aspects of the structure of Xenakis’s Achorripsis, using the fully notated score as its point of
departure. Some of the analytical techniques used in this study are adapted from methods for the prolongational analysis
of atonal music developed by Fred Lerdahl in his book Tonal Pitch Space. As part of this approach, a hierarchical
grouping structure is proposed for the sections in Achorripsis, corresponding to Lerdahl’s method of time-span analysis.
In addition to the time-span analysis, a pitch-reduction model is proposed, taking into account both the registral
extremes and the most frequently repeated pitches in the individual sections and groups of sections. The time-span and
pitch-reduction perspectives are considered along with the cumulative densities of the sections to suggest a fruitful
strategies for a conceptual organization of the experience of listening to Achorripsis. The conclusion contains
suggestions toward the possible extension of this method for the analysis of other stochastic works by Xenakis.

Dodici canoni tricordali e loro combinazioni. Caleidocicli e canoni ritmici

"Neste artigo, que integrou minha pesquisa de Mestrado, apresentamos uma análise de Bohor – obra eletroacústica de Xenakis de 1962 – baseada nos trabalhos anteriores de Kim (2000), Couprie (2005) e Gibson (2012). Bohor, perceptivamente um... more

In the 1950s a number of composers began to develop methods of algorithmic composition, with or without the aid of the then newly available computer technology. The most prominent of these composers was Iannis Xenakis, the artistic... more

In the 1950s a number of composers began to develop methods of algorithmic composition, with or without the aid of the then newly available computer technology. The most prominent of these composers was Iannis Xenakis, the artistic success of whose works earned him an international reputation as one of the leading avant-garde composers of his generation. Xenakis was one of the first composers to apply probability theory to musical composition, inaugurating what he referred to as stochastic music. Although his stochastic compositions constitute only one element of his multi-faceted output, the works composed with this approach continue to exert a special fascination on audiences, students, and professional music scholars. Drawing on writings by Xenakis and other algorithmic composers, as well as practical applications of the methods described in those writings, this article provides a basic introduction to stochastic music as it was practiced in the earliest stages of its development. In works such as Achorripsis (1957) and ST/10, 1-080262 (1956-62), Xenakis applied common probability distributions (such as the uniform, exponential, linear, and Poisson distributions) to generate both local details and large-scale form. The manner in which he transcribed the results of his calculations into musical notation is remarkable for its directness and simplicity, in contrast to the complexity of the scores produced by a number of other composers from the same era. An algorithm for the composition of stochastic music, written in Python 3, is included as an Appendix.

Iannis Xenakis had a long-standing interest in the U.S., but given the five years he spent there, little has been written about his experiences. This study attempts, through archival research and interviews, to document Xenakis’ time in... more

The analysis of Xenakis’s music presents serious challenges to scholars of music. Some analyses have taken the form of attempted reconstructions of the compositional process, either by clarifying the accounts given by the composer in his... more

Published in Organized Sound vol. 3 no. 2, pp. 147-166, 1998. Note: Author's name changed from Maria Anna Harley to Maja Trochimczyk. Contains sections: Introduction. Bach in Space. 2. Bregman on Spatial Cues. 3. Spatial Distance and... more

Published in Organized Sound vol. 3 no. 2, pp. 147-166, 1998. Note: Author's name changed from Maria Anna Harley to Maja Trochimczyk. Contains sections: Introduction. Bach in Space. 2. Bregman on Spatial Cues. 3. Spatial Distance and Stream Segregation: Brant and Cage. 4. Spatial Movement and Streaming Effects: Stockhausen, Xenakis and Serocki. 5. Avant-Garde Mistake 1: The Serialisation of Direction. 6. Spatiality on the Stage: Boulez, Andriessen and Bartok. 7. Avant-Garde Mistake 2: Geometric Sound Shapes. 8. Spatialization, Sound Masses and Fusion: Gorecki's Copernican Symphony. 9. Conclusion

Iannis Xenakis had a long-standing interest in the U.S., but given the five years he spent there, little has been written about his experiences. This study attempts, through archival research and interviews, to document Xenakis’ time in... more