Iannis Xenakis
Iannis Xenakis (1922 to 2001) came to music from mathematics and architecture. Wounded in the Greek resistance and sentenced to death, he fled to Paris in 1947 and worked for twelve years with Le Corbusier, designing the Philips Pavilion for the 1958 Brussels fair, where his tape piece Concret PH played inside Varèse's Poème électronique. Metastaseis (1954), with its glissandi drawn as straight lines on graph paper, announced a music of masses and probabilities; he called it stochastic and used game theory, group theory and, from 1961, the computer to compose.
Syrmos / Polytope / Medea (LP)
Late 1970's re-issue on Erato of the 1969 album with the first recordings of the composer's powerful compositions for orchestra (and choir) from the 1950's and 60's, performed by Ensemble Ars Nova conducted by Marius Constant.
Oresteia (LP)
Late 1970's re-issue on Erato of the 1970 album with the first recording of the 1966 avant-garde opera by Ensemble Ars Nova conducted by Marius Constant.
Oresteïa (CD)
1990 CD-only album re-issue on Salabert with a 1987 live recording of an extended version of the 1966 avant-garde opera.
Psappha (7")
Unofficial 1995 7" release in a limited edition of 200 copies on Dolor Del Estamago / Stomach Ache with a recording of the 1975 percussion piece performed by William Winant.
Polyagogy (LP)
Rare excellent 1987 compilation of great electro-acoustic music by Greek composers released by Music-Box and never re-issued on either LP or CD.
Space Theatre Program Of Steel Pavilion At Expo '70 (CD)
2004 CD re-issue on RCA/BMG of the 1970 album presenting music composed for Osaka's Expo '70 including a powerful electro-acoustic piece by the Greek composer and pieces for ensemble and orchestra by the two Japanese composers. With obi.
Milano Musica Festival Live Volume 1 (CD)
2010 first volume of Stradivarius' CD-only "Milano Musica" series with live recordings from the festival, here Quartetto Danel performs avant-garde compositions for string quartet by important contemporary composers.
1st, 2nd & 4th Hellenic Week Of Contemporary Music (5LP box)
Very rare massive 5LP box set on EMI/Odeon from 1973 documenting Athens' live avant-garde music festivals from 1966 to 1971 with spectacular experimental music for orchestra, ensemble or tape/electronics by the most prominent Greek composers of that period. Unvaluable document never re-issued on either vinyl or CD. No inserts (photocopies of the English translations are included).
Lines We Gather
Sarah Saviet [violin] and Joseph Houston [piano] formed their duo in 2019 through a mutual devotion to an intimate, powerful, and transcendental sound language created by the violin and piano. In this album, the Saviet/Houston Duo trace a path through a shifting landscape of melodic contour, with duos by Michael Finnissy, Rebecca Saunders/Enno Poppe, Lawrence Dunn, Iannis Xenakis, and their own collaborative composition. Each work reflects in different ways the intricate contradictions and the p…
New Music For Piano(s) (LP)
1970 LP on Mainstream with four 1960's avant-garde compositions for piano performed by Yuji Takahashi.
Iannis Xenakis's Persepolis (Book)
In Iannis Xenakis's Persepolis, Dr. Aram Yardumian situates the composer’s monumental electroacoustic piece amid wartime biography, architectural practice and Iranian state spectacle, tracing how one work came to shadow both the Shiraz Festival and the Revolution that followed.
Xavier Joaquín Interpreta Obras De Xenakis, Taïra Y Lewin-Richter (LP)
1982 LP on Hemisferio presenting three pieces for percussion (one with magneti tape) by three different composers spanning from 1972 to 1975, performed by Xavier Joaquín.
Edgard Varèse, Miloslav Kabeláč, Iannis Xenakis, Maurice Ohana, Carlos Chavez, John Cage, Kazimierz Serocki
Les Percussions De Strasbourg (2LP)2LP set including some of the most important compositions for percussion ensemble of the 20th century, performed by Les Percussions De Strasbourg and released by Philips in 1983.
Musique Concrète N° 2 (7" EP)
Re-issue of the epochal second BAM EP of musique concrète from 1959, featuring Pierre Schaeffer, Luc Ferrari and Iannis Xenakis.
Terretektorh / Nomos Gamma (LP)
American edition on Candide's contemporary/electronic music series of the Erato LP presenting two superb colossal ear-splitting compositions for large orchestras performed by the Orchestre National De L'ORTF conducted by Charles Brück. With insert.
ST 10-1,080262 / Polla Ta Dhina / Akrata / Achorripsis (LP)
Italian version on La Voce Del Padrone's "Modern Classics" series of the 1969 EMI LP presenting four ground-breaking works for large ensembles composed between 1956 and 1965 and performed by the Ensemble Instrumental De Musique Contemporaine De Paris conducted by Konstantin Simonovitch. With insert.
Persepolis (LP)
Xenakis's 1971 long wild 'noise' electronic masterpiece on Philips' silver covers "Prospective 21e Siècle" series. Rare and absolutely essential. Grey cover version with green labels.
Synaphai / Aroura / Antikhthon (LP)
Three powerful orchestral pieces from 1969/1971 performed by the New Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by Elgar Howarth and released on Decca's "Headline" contemporary music series in 1976. With booklet.
ST/4-1,080262 / Dikhthas / Ikhoor / Embellie / Kottos / Mikka / Mikka S (LP)
Seven pieces spanning from 1962 to 1980 for various combinations of strings (solo, trio, and duo with piano) masterfully recorded by members of the Arditti String Quartet in 1982. With insert.
Palimpsest / Phlegra / Epeï / Dmaathen (LP)
1986 LP with four powerful works for ensemble recorded by the Xenakis Ensemble in the presence of the composer. With booklet.
Cinq Rechants / O Sacrum Convivium! / Nuits (LP)
Choral music by Xenakis and Messiaen composed between 1938 and 1969, performed by the Groupe Vocal De France and released on Arion's "Musique française d'aujourd'hui" series in 1984
Evryali / Herma / Quatre Études De Rythme (LP)
1976 Japanese LP on Denon with piano music by Xenakis and Messiaen played by Yuji Takahashi. With inserts but no OBI.
Quatuor II / Herma / Archipel 1 (LP)
Italian edition of 1960's contemporary music compilation on the "Modern Classics" series presenting pieces for string trio and soprano, percussion and piano and pian solo.
Arditti
1990 release ** "Arditti", presents a typically challenging Arditti programme, beginning with Beethoven's Grosse Fuge (1826), which comes over well from their modernist standpoint. Conlon Nancarrow's String Quartet No. 3 (1987) comes next - Nancarrow had said that the Grosse Fuge was the only music he would want his quartet to follow, and they make an illuminating pairing. Ruth Crawford Seeger's magnificent String Quartet (1931) has had several fine recordings, and this one is one of the best - …
Iannis Xenakis: Sonic Odysseys (Book)
The definitive publication accompanying the most comprehensive exhibition ever dedicated to one of the most visionary composers and polymaths of the 20th century
Xenakis-Reich (Live)
Trio Xenakis – comprising percussionists Adélaïde Ferrière, Emmanuel Jacquet, and Rodolphe Théry – presents Xenakis-Reich (Live) on B Records, a rigorous examination of two foundational approaches to contemporary percussion composition. This vinyl edition documents live performances that illuminate both the technical demands and philosophical substrates of works by Iannis Xenakis (1922-2001) and Steve Reich (b. 1936). The program opens with Xenakis's Okho (12:47), a seminal work for three djembe…
Live
1992 release ** "'Rebonds' (I. Xenakis), 'Akea' (I. Xenakis), 'Epicycles' (I. Xenakis), 'Mania' (C. Tsoupaki), 'Concerto For Oboe And Chamber Ensemble' (D. del Puerto) - Machiko Takahasi (fl.), Ernest Rombout (ob.), Mark Dijcks, Ria Kleinjan (cl.), Jonathan Reeder, Stefanie Liedtke (bsn.), Fokke van Heel, Guillermo Zarzo (h.), Peter van Dinther (tp.), Willie Verdievel (tb.), Jan van der Sanden (tu.), Mifune Tsuji, Izumi Okubo, Paul Hendriks (vl), Susan Bierre (vla), Tadashi Tanaka (cel.), Thom d…
Orchestral Space
2009 release ** "Japan-for-U.S. CD reissue of Varèse Sarabande LP configuration (VX 81060), featuring contemporary, avant-garde classical performances, recorded live at Tokyo's Nissei Theatre in 1966 by the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Seiji Ozawa and Hiroshi Wakasugi, featuring performances of the works of nineteen separate composers, of which four were selected for this particular release. The packaging features an eight-page booklet with liner notes "based upon notes by Kun…
Iannis Xenakis - Mythos und Technik
*2025 stock**Bilingual Edition English and German* In the films of this DVD, Peider A Defilla provides an insight into the oeuvre of Iannis Xenakis. The films show musica-viva performances of the works ’Syrmos’, ’Synaphai’, ’Theraps’, and ’Nekula’, and the respective BR-alpha broadcasts on these compositions. In an exclusive interview, the composer Iannis Xenakis is asked about his compositional oeuvre. In addition, the data section of the DVD contains further information on Iannis Xenakis, the …
Anahit / Mikka / Mikka “S”/ Strung Out
Absolutely essential 1976 ambient/modern classical compilation of solo violin music by three legendary composers.
Radio Cologne Sound Das Studio für Elektronische Musik des WDR
Small repress available! Biggest Tip possible! ** English/German edition. 288 pp + 5CD plenty of incredible music, most of which have never been heard before ** From the Wolke Verlag imprint, who've already brought us incredible books like Karl Berger's "The Music Mind Experience", "FMP Free Music Production - The Living Music", Peter Brötzmann's Along the Way, and George Lewis' "Composing While Black. Afrodiasporic New Music Today", to name only a few and a great many more - comes one of the m…
Electroacoustic Works
Repressed! Wow! 5 CD box set. „Electroacoustic Works“ celebrates the 100th anniversary of Iannis Xanakis (on May 29th, 2022), one of the most influential 20th century avantgarde composers. For the first time, the complete electroacoustic works of Xenakis are now available on record! All tracks have been newly mixed by longtime zeitkratzer sound engineer Martin Wurmnest and mastered by Rashad Becker and finally reveal their full sonic range and dynamics. Booklet with English / German liner notes…
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Eonta
*2024 stock* bastille musique presents its twenty-third release »Iannis Xenakis: Eonta« featuring recordings by Ensemble Schwerpunkt, Lorenzo Soulès (piano), Edicson Ruiz (double bass), Dirk Rothbrust (percussion) und Peter Rundel (conductor). The album includes Iannis Xenakis’s music for brass from four decades, from Eonta (1963-1964) to Linaia-Agon (1972), Khal Perr (1983) and Mnamas Xapin Witoldowi Lutosławskiemu (1994), amongst others. In addition to the recordings produced by the WDR, it al…
Persepolis
One of the milestones of electroacoustic music: Iannis Xenakis’ mindblowing 54-minutes oeuvre “Persepolis”, mixed from the original 8 track tapes by Martin Wurmnest“Persepolis” is the longest electroacoustic composition by Iannis Xenakis (1922-2001) who ranks among the most influential 20th century avantgarde composers. Commissioned by the Persian Shah, the piece was part of a multimedia performance – Iannis Xenakis' so-called “polytopes” – which premiered in 1971 in Shiraz-Persepolis (Iran) as …
Diamorphoses / Concret Ph / Orient Occident / Bohor
Iannis Xenakis's early electroacoustic works define already the compositional space he is using later in his mature, almost one-hour long works like Persepolis or La Légende d'Er. After arriving in Paris as a Greek refuge in 1947, Xenakis quickly found a work as construction engineer with the architect Le Corbusier. He tried in vain for several years to become a member of the Groupe De Musique Concrète (GRM) and thus to gain access to the electroacoustic studios at the French radio. Pierre Schae…
Taurhiphanie / Voyage Absolu Des Unari Vers Andromède / Gendy 3 / S.709
Iannis Xenakis's late electroacoustic music became electronic: all sounds are synthetic "explicit computer music" as Peter Hoffmann called it. The music presented here shows Xenakis's way back from spatialized immersive music and multimedia spectacle to simple loudspeaker music. The sound does not move anymore, there are no synchronized visuals: nothing remains but structured noise. Xenakis used two inventions he had already presented in the context of the Polytopes: sounds created by stochastic…
La Legende D'Eer
Tip! Individual LP from the Electroacoustic Works boxset. The second release in the Perihel series is one of the most famous electroacoustic compositions by Iannis Xenakis. When Iannis Xenakis (1922-2001), who had fought against the occupation as part of the communist resistance, moved to Paris in 1947 it was the start of a highly creative and impressive career. Xenakis not only studied composition with Olivier Messiaen and became one of the most innovative composers of the 20th century, he also…
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Hibiki Hana-Ma / Mycenae Alpha / Polytope De Cluny
*Restocked, reduced price* "Hibiki Hana-Ma" was created in 1969 for the Steel Pavilion of the Japan Iron and Steel Federation at the Expo 1970 in Osaka as musical part of a multimedia show. Even though the work does not bear the designation in its title, it can be already regarded as a Polytope: it was created for a specific architectural location, lasers and mirrors have been installed: a light choreography by the Japanese artist Keiji Usami accompanied the spectacle. This concept of synchroniz…
Palimpsest | Épéi | Dikhthas | Akanthos
*2022 stock* 'This collection of ensemble works, six altogether, ranges across the last two decades of Iannis Xenakis's life. It includes the last two pieces he composed, Zythos, for trombone and six marimbas, and O-Mega, for percussion and ensemble, both written in 1997, four years before his death. They are striking, small-scale examples of the bareness and drastic compression of his late style, but the finest music here is a bit earlier. In Échange, from 1989, a bass clarinet painstakingly un…
Memory in Motion: Percussion in Surround
Five works for six or four percussionists in surround sound: Xenakis's Persephassa, Mâche's Aera, Zihua Tan's Sorites and two pieces by Alcides Lanza, played by the Music in Motion Ensemble directed by Aiyun Huang.