Iannis Xenakis - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I would definitely recommend checking out his string quartets. I saw the JACK Quartet perform them a couple of months ago. It was insane.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_adso67GUd4 (ST-4/1,080262)

This made me curious to check his actual work. It seems like math and music is not always a winning combination:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZazYFchLRI (Metastasis)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yge7GNl5p_k (Psappha)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XroZgeGOdys (Terretektorh)

He came to CMU in the 80's and I got to see him "perform" one of his works - more like a live mix. Shortly after that I bought an album of his at a used record store - I couldn't believe I found it, he seemed very obscure to me.

Anyway, if any of you have my album, I want it back. Serious.

"Pythagoras knew it, but Bach demonstrated it: without mathematics there is no music." [1]

RIPJSB.

[1] http://www.ntnu.no/gemini/2000-06e/32-34.htm

His book: Formalized Music: Thought and Mathematics in Composition

http://books.google.com/books?id=y6lL3I0vmMwC&printsec=f...