Formalized Music: Thought and Mathematics in Composition (Harmonologia Series, No 6) [Paperback]

Iannis Xenakis (Author)

Book Description

Series: Harmonologia Series | Publication Date: March 10, 2001

Pendragon Press is proud to offer this new, revised, and expanded edition of Formalized Music, Iannis Xenakis's landmark book of 1971. In addition to three totally new chapters examining recent breakthroughs in music theory, two original computer programs illustrating the actual realization of newly proposed methods of composition, and an appendix of the very latest developments of stochastic synthesis as an invitation to future exploration, Xenakis offers a very critical self-examination of his theoretical propositions and artistic output of the past thirty-five years. This edition of Formalized Music is an essential tool for understanding the man and the thought processes of one of this century's most important and revolutionary musical figures.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English, French (translation) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 490 pages
• Publisher: Pendragon Pr; 2nd edition (March 10, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1576470792
• ISBN-13: 978-1576470794
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #409,714 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Xenakis and the road not taken, June 24, 2002

By 

R. Hutchinson "autonomeus" (a world ruled by fossil fuels and fossil minds) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Formalized Music: Thought and Mathematics in Composition (Harmonologia Series, No 6) (Paperback)

This is an incredible work, the concentrated expression of Xenakis' philosophy of music, and the category he pioneered, "stochastic music." Of course very few composers have followed Xenakis into this new universe -- Roger Reynolds is perhaps the best and most important, though Xenakis is only one of his key sources.

"Musiques Formelles" was originally published in French in 1963, and the English edition dates from 1971. The potential reader should know that the better part of the book is expressed in mathematics. It therefore provides a working basis for an aspiring stochastic music composer, but not what most of the rest of us consider gripping reading. I found the discussion of the use of "screens" in composition based on Markov chains to be intelligible, but there are pages and pages of equations that I would only read if it would further a goal such as a stochastic composition. There are, however, several powerful passages in chapters I ("Free Stochastic Music") and VIII ("Towards a Philosophy of Music") that are crucial for anyone interested in 20th century music.

It would be a great development if Xenakis was to belatedly replace the minimalists as a major force in "contemporary classical"/"new music" !!

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Difficult but profitable, December 31, 2003

By 

Oscar (Bogotá, Colombia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Formalized Music: Thought and Mathematics in Composition (Harmonologia Series, No 6) (Paperback)

A very difficult book even for experienced musicians, due to complex high mathematics terms and explanations (you will need any degree of math training for understanding some concepts displayed in this book). However, there are several chapters with interesting information and ideas to be applied in your own music or analysis approach. For instance, chapters XI and XII (titled "Sieves" and "Sieves: A User's Guide") have an interesting and clear (the most one of entire book) explanation about a fundamental tool in Xenakis music as is sieve theory, which can be applied to several music parameters such as pitch, duration or intensity, etc. Other chapters as XIII and XIV can be useful if you are interested in synthesis or computer-based synthesis software such as Csound and Common Lisp or another synthesis programming language.
Rather than difficulty of this book, I think the main problem is about how useful can be this book for 70's and 80's Xenakis repertoire. The book is mainly focused and written for mid 50's and 60's Xenakis music (works such as Metastaseis, Pithoprakta, Achorripsis, etc) and can be disappointing if you are interested in 70's Xenakis music (for me, his most interesting period}.

21 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Unique theory book for music based on mathematics, November 23, 1998

By 

Jung, Sung-Young([e-mail]) (South Korea) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Formalized Music: Thought and Mathematics in Composition (Harmonologia) (Paperback)

It is Unique theory book for music based on mathematics as I know. Xenakis's musical world is based on modern mathematics. He use statistics, stochastic process, game theory, group theory, etc. in order to formalize macro level musical structure. This book shows how mathematics can be applied to music. He insists that the criterion for aesthetics of music be "intelligence", not beauty. I think that It is historical publication in music theory area.