Xenakis: Complete String Quartets

Iannis Xenakis (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 5, 2009)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Mode
• ASIN: B001WKHZT6
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #68,768 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing - and Very Au Courant, February 24, 2010

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JMB1014 "JMB1014" (USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Xenakis: Complete String Quartets (Audio CD)

Iannis Xenais is clearly a hit in New York City these days. Several of his works were featured there on June 21, including a piece for percussion, "Persephassa," which was performed outdoors and on platforms floating in Central Park Lake. A substantial article about him appears in the March 1, 2010 issue of "The New Yorker." An exhibition at the Drawing Center in New York shows how he combined his visual and musical ideas. While I am not an expert on modern music, I do appreciate how amazing are the four string quartets on this album as exercises in spatial music design. The playing by the quartet called JACK is outstanding: fierce, clear and resonant. The sound is superb and the price is fair.

Iannis Xenakis (1922-2001) was part of the Greek Resistance during World War II. After the war, he worked as an engineer and architect. From 1947-1959, he was part of the studio of Le Corbusier in Paris. Even his musical compositions contain mathematical notations. Xenakis is regarded as one of the most important of modern composers and has dozens of pieces to his credit, including several for large ensembles and innovative settings. He was a pioneer of electronic and computerized music. Fortunately, he also published a set of essays promulgating his views on composition, entitled "Formalized Music: Thought and Mathematics in Composition" (1971).

While these four works are dissonant and highly challenging (they are composed "stochastically," meaning with random variables - and I gather acquaintance with probability theory makes them more comprehensible) they are truly rewarding to hear in themselves, and so splendidly performed that this CD gives real pleasure. It has won substantial critical acclaim and includes the only recorded performance of "Ergma," Xenakis' final quartet, written in 1994. (You can also see the performances on surround sound DVD, which must be purchased separately. I have seen excerpts and it is worth it to watch the DVD.) If you are adventurous or just love modern music, string quartets, or all of the above, I highly recommend this disc.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ear-cleansing, March 9, 2010

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Kuru (Seattle) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Xenakis: Complete String Quartets (Audio CD)

I had the privilege of hearing the JACK Quartet play this music live last year in a memorable concert. They are a group to rival the Arditti Quartet as masters of new music. This is an essential album for anyone interested in the music of the late 20th century.