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Biography of Iannis XenakisName: Iannis XenakisBirth Date: May 29, 1922 Death Date: February 4, 2001 Place of Birth: Braila, Romania Nationality: Greek Gender: Male Occupations: composer, architect Iannis Xenakis Iannis Xenakis (1922-2001), Greek composer and architect, was one of the first to react against the post-Weberian serialists and pointillists who dominated music in the 1950s. Initially, his most notable achievement was the invention of "stochastic" music based on the mathematical laws of probability. This is a method of composition which uses mathematical formulae to calculate the length and intensity of each sound. As his career has progressed, he became one of the world's best-known composers of electronic music, or music generated by computers.Iannis Xenakis was was born into a cataclysmic time in pre-World War II history, and like many others who were forced to put their ambitions aside until the world was at peace again, he had to wait until his middle twenties before he was able to follow the desire of his heart and become a composer.He came from a prosperous Greek family based in Rumania, and …showed first 150 words…
…showed last 150 words…composer at the Oslo festival of contemporary music's Ultima 94. A large selection of his music was played, including Okho, a 1989 composition for three middle-eastern drums, as well as a 70-minute long concert version of his Oresteia. Its performers included a chamber chorus, a children's chorus, an ensemble of winds and percussion, and a cello. Each of these is now a cherished part of the contemporary music repertoire, as well as a milestone in music's entry into the electronic age.Xenakis died in his Paris, France, home on February 4, 2001. He was 78. Further Reading Bois, Mario, Iannis Xenakis, the Man and His Music: A Conversation with the Composer and a Description of His Works (1967). Xenakis is discussed in Peter S. Hansen, An Introduction to Twentieth Century Music (3d ed. 1971).Ewen, David, Composers of Tomorrows's Music , Dodd, Mead & Company, 1971.Matossian, Nouritza, Xenakis, Kahn & Averill, 1986.American Record Guide, March/April 1995; January/February 1997. |