Iannis Xenakis

Giannis Klearchou Xenakis (also known as Yannis or Iannis Xenakis; Greek: Γιάννης "Ιωάννης" Κλέαρχου Ξενάκης, pronounced [ˈʝanis kseˈnacis]; 29 May 1922 – 4 February 2001) was a Greek, French, and Romanian composer and architect

Iannis Xenakis
Xenakis in his Paris studio, c. 1970
Born	Giannis Klearchou Xenakis (1922-05-29)29 May 1922 Brăila, Romania
Died	4 February 2001(2001-02-04) (aged 79) Paris, France
Occupation(s)	Composer, architect
Years active	1947–1997
Spouse	Françoise Gargouïl ​ (m. 1953)​
Children	1

Early Life

Giannis Klearchou Xenakis was born in Brăila, Romania. He was born to Klearchos Xenakis, a businessman from Euboea, and Fotini Pavlou from Lemnos, a pianist. He had two brothers named Jason and Kosmas.

His parents were both interested in music, and wanted Xenakis to learn more about it. He would learn music at a boarding school and the National Technical University in Athens.

In college, Xenakis fought for the National Liberation Front. He later graduated from college.

Xenakis left Greece for Paris as a refugee. He was sentenced in absentia to death in Greece. He came back many years later, once the sentence was ended.

Works

Xenakis wrote many musical compositions. This includes thirty two pieces for voice, two ballets, and seventeen solo instrumental pieces.

Additional sources

• Di Scipio, Agostino (1998). "Compositional Models in Xenakis's Electroacoustic Music". Perspectives of New Music. 36 (2): 201–243. doi:10.2307/833529. JSTOR 833529.
• Gilbert, Martin (1966). Winston Churchill. Oxford University Press.
• Harley, James (2004). Xenakis: His Life in Music. London: Taylor & Francis. ISBN 0-415-97145-4.
• Hoffmann, Peter (2001). "Xenakis, Iannis". In Deane Root (ed.). Grove Music Online. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.30654. ISBN 978-1-56159-263-0.
• Hugill, Andrew (2008). The Digital Musician. New York: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-80660-2.
• Matossian, Nouritza (1986). Xenakis. London: Kahn and Averill. ISBN 1-871082-17-X.
• Serra, Marie-Hélène (Winter 1993). "Stochastic Composition and Stochastic Timbre: GENDY3 by Iannis Xenakis". Perspectives of New Music. 32 (1): 236–257. doi:10.2307/833052. JSTOR 833052.
• Varga, Bálint András (1996). Conversations with Iannis Xenakis. London: Faber and Faber. ISBN 0-571-17959-2.

Further reading

• Amagali, Rosemary Tristano. (1975). "Texture as an Organizational Factor in Selected Works of Iannis Xenakis". M.M. Thesis, Indiana University.
• Anther, Eric (1986). ""Mi-homme, mi dragon" par Iannis Xenakis" (PDF). Le monde de la musique. France: Le monde and Telerama.
• Ariza, Christopher (2005). "The Xenakis Sieve as Object: A New Model and a Complete Implementation". Computer Music Journal. 29 (2): 40–60. doi:10.1162/0148926054094396. ISSN 0148-9267. S2CID 10854809.
• Bardot, Jean-Marc. (1999). "Cendrées de Xenakis ou l'émergence de la vocalité dans la pensée xenakienne." Undergraduate thesis (equivalent). Saint-Etienne: Université Jean Monnet.
• Biasi, Salvatore di. (1994). Musica e matematica negli anni 50–60: Iannis Xenakis. Bologna. Università degli Studi di Bologna.
• Boivin, Jean. 1995. La Classe de Messiaen. Paris: Christian Bourgois.
• Clark, Philip. (2009). "Xenakis", in The Wire Primers: A Guide To Modern Music, 191–198. London and New York: Verso. ISBN 978-1-84467-427-5.
• Kitsikis, Dimitri. (2014). Περί Ηρώων: Οι ήρωες και η σημασία τους για τον σύγχρονο ελληνισμό (On Heroes.: Heroes and Their Importance for Contemporary Hellenism). Athens: Herodotos. ISBN 978-960-485-068-6 (Chapter "Iannis Xenakis: Souvenirs from Paris, by D. Kitsikis, Xenakis's Intimate Friend").
• McCallum, Peter (17 October 1992). "Metaphors of space". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 47. Retrieved 23 May 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
• Murray, Margaret (5 November 1988). "Taking Bach to the planets". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 93. Retrieved 23 May 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
• Paland, Ralph, and Christoph von Blumröder (eds.). (2009). Iannis Xenakis: Das elektroakustische Werk. Internationales Symposion. Tagungsbericht 2006. Signale aus Köln. Beiträge zur Musik der Zeit 14. Vienna. Der Apfel. ISBN 978-3-85450-414-6.
• Peters, Frank (2 May 1967). "Battle Sounds Graphed Into Music". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. St. Louis, Missouri. p. 41. Retrieved 23 May 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
• Schaal, Hans-Jürgen (29 May 2022). "Die Mathematik der Klangwolken – Ausgabe: 5/22 – neue musikzeitung". nmz (in German). Retrieved 29 May 2022.
• Swed, Mark (10 November 2010). "Cold, stern and so very hip". The Los Angeles Times. p. 32. Retrieved 23 May 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
• Woodward, Roger (2014). "Iannis Xenakis". Beyond Black and White. HarperCollins. pp. 353-399. ISBN 9780733323034

Obituaries

• Swed, Mark (5 February 2001). "Iannis Xenakis; Avant-Garde Composer". The Los Angeles Times. p. 22. Retrieved 23 May 2020 – via Newspapers.com.

Other Websites

• xenakis.musicportal.gr from the Institute for Research on Music and Acoustics, Athens (Greece) – in Greek and English with many score and audio examples
• Iannis-Xenakis.org by the Friends of Xenakis
• Medieval.org: Modern Music: Xenakis
• Luque, Sergio. 2009. "The Stochastic Synthesis of Iannis Xenakis." Leonardo Music Journal (19): 77–84
• Works catalogue 70-page PDF from Xenakis's publisher Éditions Durand-Salabert-Eschig
• Iannis Xenakis @ Boosey & Hawkes Publisher
• Iannis Xenakis: the aesthetics of his early works by Markos Zografos
• Iannis Xenakis Bibliography and Discography compiled by James Harley for Leonardo/ISAST
• Two articles by Grant Chu Covell (2006) documenting then-recent Xenakis recordings and books about Xenakis: Part 1 and Part 2

• Interview with Iannis Xenakis, 25 March 1997