Search - Iannis Xenakis, Safir, Swf So Baden-Baden :: Xenakis: Orchestral Works & Chamber Music

Awesome, forbidding pinnacles of the 20th century

R. Hutchinson | a world ruled by fossil fuels and fossil minds | 12/01/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is THE Xenakis disc for anyone who doubts his importance in the history of composition! Contained on this Col Legno collection is the original 1955 recording of "Metastaseis," perhaps Xenakis' single most important work. Using the Fibonacci series, it is based on the same fundamental calculations as the majestic pavilion for the 1958 World's Fair in Brussels that Xenakis designed for Le Corbusier. Only 8 minutes long, "Metastaseis," with its glissandos and clusters, illuminated explosively the terrain first glimpsed in the raw dissonance of Stravinsky's "Rite of Spring" and Varese's spatial, rhythmic soundscapes. Included here are 3 more brilliant orchestral pieces, "Jonchaies" (1977), "Ata" (1987) and "Ioolkos" (1996). Also included are 2 chamber pieces, and while giving a fuller picture of Xenakis' music, it is the orchestral works which make this disc absolutely brilliant and essential. From the mid-50s on, Xenakis pursued his own path -- paradoxically complex and direct, fiercely confrontational music that captured and speaks of the intensity of the 20th century. While obscure in the U.S., Xenakis is recognized in Europe as one of the leading composers of his time. While I have heard some small ensemble works that I thought were mediocre, I would say his orchestral works, along with those of Ligeti and Carter, are the most radical, distinctive, and characteristic of the late 20th century. If you are seeking out Xenakis on the basis of his reputation as a pioneer of electronic music, there is no use of electronics on this disc. However, be aware that Xenakis creates sounds you may have thought impossible with a standard orchestra! Another superb composition by Xenakis that *does* use electronics along with orchestra, is "Kraanerg" -- I recommend the version with Charles Bornstein and the ST-X Ensemble on the Asphodel label."

THE introduction to Xenakis

Christopher Culver | 02/11/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The Col legno label's "Orchestral works and chamber music" discs are usually overpriced and contain second-rate material. But on this collection of the music of Iannis Xenakis, we get several excellent pieces in historical performances, with surprising good sound quality.



Just for this recording of "Metastasis" alone the disc is worth for the price. This work, written for large orchestra between 1953 and 1954, was Xenakis' first mature effort. Of great proportions indeed, "Metastasis" has 61 instrumentalists playing 61 different parts. The opening is stunning, gradually each of the strings enters sustaining a single note, creating a massive wall of sound before some strings go astray via glissandi to other notes and pizzicato playing and the rest of the orchestra shows up. Closely related to the composer's design of the Couvent de la Tourette near Lyons, much of the dynamics of this first portion is based on the Fibonacci sequence, with nearly every decision in the work, from the structures of intervals to the length of dynamics and tones. The second section is more traditional, as the bulk of the orchestral forces remain silent with some strings playing a contrapuntal passage with drumrolls in the background and the occasional spotting of brass. This recording documents the world-premiere at the 1955 Donaueschinger Musiktage, where the SWF Symphony Orchestra conducted by Hans Rosbaud perform. While slightly lesser in sound-quality than the other two widely-available recordings, this one was considered to be the best by Xenakis, and even in 1950s mono sound it packs a tremendous punch.



Almost two decades passed between "Metastasis" and the next piece here. "Charisma" (1971) is written for clarinet, here Hans Deinzer, and cello, here the great Siegfried Palm. Unlike the wild energy typical of much of Xenakis' work, this duo consists of long-held sonorities and pregnant silences. Alone of the pieces here, it tends toward the forgettable, but some of the weird, noise-like sounds evoked unusual attacks on the instruments are quite interesting.



"N'Shima" (1975) is the only work here to include voices, and is also the smallest piece for ensemble. Two female voices, singing from a Hebrew text, are combined with two horns, two trombones, and a cello. The piece was rigorously constructed with the aid of a computer to create melodic patterns from probabilities, but the result, far from seeming inhuman or lifeless, is immensely elegant. Throughout each of the piece's six sections, a particular combination of instruments is explored, starting with voice and horns, the cello paired with breath sounds, and so forth. A strong effort, and this performance by Les Jeunes Solistes conducted by Rachid Safir, recorded at a 1991 festival in Metz, is admirably clear and confident.



In "Jonchaies" (1977) Xenakis returns to the massively large orchestra of "Metastasis", with 109 musicians, quadruple winds, six percussionists, and an extra-large string section. The piece is one of his late masterpieces, and it's got it all. The opening is for string alone, starting off with repetitive bowing reminiscent of the PSYCHO shower scene, then falling into some of Xenakis' most straightfowardly melodical writing. Gamelan-like sonorities appear in a long string continuum. Then, the piece launches into a series of rhythmic pulsations, with bouncy writing on drums and low strings similar to Per Norgard's much later piece "Terrains Vagues". The energy never lets up, even with most of the orchestra occasionally drops out to highlight one group. Gilbert Amy leads the Nouvel Orchesre Philharmonique in a splendid performance.



"Ata" (1987) similarly opens with a passage for string alone, but its main facet is not rhythm but texture. Overall it's one of the least "strange" pieces Xenakis wrote, resembling some of the work of Magnus Lindberg like "Fresco" or "Arena". I would have started the disc with "Metastasis" to show the fury that Xenakis is all about, but Col legno did well by putting this piece early to help new listeners gently acclimate to the composer's soundworld. This recording is from the premiere at the 1988 Donaueschinger Musiktage, with Michael Gielen leading the SWF Symphony.



"Ioolkos" (1996) was another piece premiered at Donaueschingen, and this recording is of that performance by the SWF Symphony Orchestra led by Kwame Ryan. In its numerous clusters and strong counterpoint, it looks back to "Metastasis", which appeared forty-one years earlier by the same orchestra at the same festival. However, it is much slower and a bit shorter, taking the gentle soundworld of "Ata" a bit further.



Xenakis was a notoriously inconsistent composer, and a few of his works are even well-nigh unlistenable. However, the material collected here is of a very high standard indeed. Unfortunately, the liner notes here, amounting to a single small paragraph on each work, are among the most unsubstantial I've ever seen. Fans of the composer would do best to seek out James Harley's excellent guide XENAKIS (Routledge, 2004) which covers the composer's entire oeuvre--don't worry, it doesn't assume that one can read music."