Iannis Xenakis: Chamber Music 1955-1990 (Arditti Quartet Edition 13-14) (1994, r2003)

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As an architect and mathematician, Iannis Xenakis brings an unusual eye to bear on his compositional ear. He rejected twelve-tone composition decades ago, instead pushing the envelope further on determinate numbers and sounds and generating a broader palette of available sounds. Graphical notation has been one of Xenakis's chief means of expression, allowing him to script sharply sliding glissandi and what he calls non-octave scales. This 2-CD set collects three string quartets and the busy, aching Akea, Xenakis's quintet for piano and strings. The unsurpassed Arditti String Quartet plays the ensemble pieces, and then farms out constituent members to play the solo and duo pieces. Pianist Claude Helffer creates pointed havoc on his three solo appearances, offering spare tones and dense steam alike. When playing with the Ardittis, Helffer makes himself central to the hard punch and slightly mad—extremely unconventional drama. —Amazon.com

”

Tracklist

Disc 1

1. Tetras for String Quartet
2. Mists for Solo Piano
3. Kottos for Solo Cello
4. Herma for Solo Piano
5. Embellie for Solo Viola
6. A R. for Solo Piano (Hommage a Ravel)
7. Mikka for Solo Violin
8. Mikka 'S' for Solo Violin
9. Akea Quintet for Piano & Strings

Disc 2

1. Dikhthas for Violin & Piano
2. Tetora for String Quartet
3. Nomos Alpha for Solo Cello
4. Ikhoor for String Trio
5. Evryali for Solo Piano
6. St-4 for String Quartet

Arditti String Quartet:
Irvine Arditti, violin
David Alberman, violin
Garth Knox, viola
Rohan de Saram, cello

Claude Helffer, piano

This double CD compiles the complete Xenakis chamber music for strings and/or piano, in various combinations, from 1955 to 1990.

Montaigne/Naïve: MO 782137