What is the other name of Yannis Xenakis?
Alternative Title: Yannis Xenakis. Iannis Xenakis, (born May 29, 1922, Brăila, Romania—died February 4, 2001, Paris, France), Romanian-born French composer, architect, and mathematician who originated musique stochastique, music composed with the aid of electronic computers and based upon mathematical probability systems.
Where can I find Xenakis’ music?
There’s a huge amount to discover in Xenakis’s music, and much of his vast output is out there on YouTube.
Why was Xenakis exiled from Greece?
After graduation in 1947 from the Athens institute of technology, Xenakis was exiled from Greece owing to his political activities. He moved to Paris, where he was for 12 years associated with the architect Le Corbusier. During this time he designed the Philips Pavilion for the Brussels International Exhibition of 1958.
How did Le Corbusier influence Xenakis?
The experience Xenakis gained played a major role in his music: important early compositions such as Metastaseis (1953–54) were based directly on architectural concepts. At the same time, while working for Le Corbusier, Xenakis was studying harmony and counterpoint, and composing.
What makes Xenakis’ music so special?
This music is expressive: not in a conventionally emotional way, perhaps, but it has an ecstatic, cathartic power. Xenakis’s music – and its preternaturally brilliant performers – allows its listeners to witness seismic events close at hand, to be at the middle of a musical happening of cosmic intensity.
How did Fotini influence Xenakis?
His parents were both interested in music, and it was Fotini who introduced the young Xenakis to music. Her early death, when Xenakis was five years old, was a traumatic experience that, in his own words, “deeply scarred” the future composer.
What happened to Xenakis after he left Greece?
Xenakis, fearing for his life, went into hiding. With the help of his father and others he fled Greece through Italy. On 11 November 1947 he arrived in Paris. In a late interview, Xenakis admitted to feeling tremendous guilt at leaving his country, and that guilt was one of the sources of his later devotion to music: