Iannis Xenakis Overview

Iannis Xenakis was a highly original Greek composer, known for using mathematic principles in his compositions. Born in Romania, Xenakis was part of the Greek Resistance during World War II, then later moved to France, where he worked as an architect... [more]

Iannis Xenakis was a highly original Greek composer, known for using mathematic principles in his compositions. Born in Romania, Xenakis was part of the Greek Resistance during World War II, then later moved to France, where he worked as an architect with Le Corbusier and studied composition with Olivier Messiaen. While working with Le Corbusier, Xenakis designed the Philips Pavilion for the 1958 Brussels World’s Fair; this structure (which consists of paraboloids made from numerous straight lines) also served as the basis for Xenakis’s 1954 work Metastasis, where these straight lines become glissandi. With each instrument in the orchestra playing individual glissandi, Xenakis created an effect that became known as “sound-mass.” His later pieces focused on various areas of mathematics, primarily statistics and probability, but also set theory and game theory. The majority of his works call for acoustic instruments, but he also composed electroacoustic works. He wrote a book about his methods titled Formalised Music, which has been highly influential to many composers, particularly in the field of computer music. [show less]