#metastaseis

[atmospheric-minimalism]

Iannis Xenakis, Study for Metastaseis 1954. Ink on paper, 9-1/2 x 12-1/2 inches (24,13 x 31,75 cm). Iannis Xenakis Archives, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris

[atmospheric-minimalism]

Iannis Xenakis, Study for Metastaseis, 1954, ink on paper, 9 1/2 x 12 1/2 in. Iannis Xenakis Archives, Clichès Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris

[sumaqkapchiy]

Iannis Xenakis - Metastasis

Metastasis or Metastaseis ("dialectic transformations"), is an orchestral work by Iannis Xenakis, a Greek composer-architect and a major figure in the postwar development of musical modernism worldwide. He is particularly remembered for the pioneering use of stochastic mathematical techniques in his compositions, including probability (Maxwell-Boltzmann kinetic theory of gases, aleatory distribution of points on a plane, minimal constraints, Gaussian distribution, Markov chains), game theory, group theory, Boolean algebra and Brownian motion. Metastasis was inspired by Einstein's view of time (a function of matter & energy) and structured on mathematical ideas by Xenakis's colleague Le Corbusier. The 1st and 3rd movements don't have a melodic theme to hold them together, but rather depend on the strength of this conceptualization of time. The 2nd movement does have some sort of melodic element. A fragment of a 12-tone row is used, with durations based on the Fibonacci sequence (1,1,2,3,5,8,13,21,34...) The preliminary sketch for Metastasis was in graphic notation looking more like a blueprint than a musical score, showing graphs of mass motion and glissandi like structural beams of the piece, with sound frequencies on one axis and time on the other. In this video I tried to display this by presenting the frequency spectrum (0-20.000Hz) of the piece and how Xenakis actually "drew" music. SWF Symphony Orchestra Hans Rosbaud, conductor October 1955

[the-drawing-center]

Iannis Xenakis

It is Throwback Thursday!

“In reality, an artist is a theoretician, a manipulator and creator of forms in movement. Seen from the point of view of art, all our knowledge and our actions are but aesthetic expressions of forms and their transformations.”

--Iannis Xenakis

Iannis Xenakis (1922–2001), a pioneer in the post-war avant-garde music, was also known as an engineer and an architect. During his 12-year tenure at Le Corbusier’s atelier, Xenakis was stimulated and inspired by modernist ideas. Gradually drawing became the conduit to developing his creative ideas. His knowledge of architectural structures and mathematical theories also led him into the innovative music world. In 1958, Xenakis designed the iconic Philips Pavilion for the Brussels World’s Fair. The volumetric design of the building inspired him to create his most significant orchestra piece Metastaseis. Xenakis was always thinking with his hands. He imbued his musical scores with his three-dimensional sense of space.

In 2001, the exhibition Iannis Xenakis: Composer, Architect, Visionary explored the fundamental role of drawing in the work of Greek avant-garde composer Iannis Xenakis. Comprised of nearly 100 documents created between 1953 and 1984, this was the first North American exhibition dedicated to Xenakis’s original works on paper. Included were rarely-seen hand-rendered scores, architectural drawings, conceptual renderings, pre-compositional sketches, and graphic scores.

Images:

Iannis Xenakis, Study for Metastaseis, 1954 Ink on paper. Iannis Xenakis Archives, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris.

Iannis Xenakis, Study for Terretektorh, c. 1965-66. Colored pencil on paper. Iannis Xenakis Archives, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris. 

Iannis Xenakis, Cité de la Musique (aerial perspective and elevation), 1984. Ink on vellum. Iannis Xenakis Archives, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris.

[oldnotebook-blog-blog]

Xenakis