IANNIS XENAKIS WEEK

‘For me, all the music that I write is an exploration of possibilities in being and in evolution of forms.’ Xenakis

Xenakis is an explorer of the furthest frontiers of music, architecture and thought. His dazzling mathematical constructions changed the face of music for all time and his organic structures lent poetry to post-war architecture. Shimmering strings, thundering percussion, heartfelt voices transport us to Xenakian imagery of planetary motions, galaxies and grandeur of the natural world. His daring imagination empowered audiences and musicians with a passion born out of a tumultuous and traumatic life.

Immerse yourself in the new spirit of the 21^st century – the fusion of arts and science by its leading pioneer.

This unusual festival features two international authorities whose talents and expertise will reveal the inner soul and towering scale of this most significant modern composer. Xenakis’ only biographer and family friend, Cyprus-born Nouritza Matossian, and the celebrated cellist, Rohan de Saram, lead us through a life-changing adventure into uncharted territories. The Pharos Trust is delighted to welcome them after their success at the South Bank Xenakis Festival in 2005. Cyprus will be privileged to enjoy a groundbreaking multi-media concert, a prize-winning film, a high-tech sound and light show, an illustrated lecture, and the relaunch of Matossian’s acclaimed biography published by Moufflon Publications. Don’t miss this unique insight into the mind of the Greek polymath of modern times by two of his closest collaborators.

FRIDAY 1 DECEMBER, 2006

Architect of Sound
MULTI-MEDIA ENCOUNTER
The Life and Music of Iannis Xenakis

Pasydy Auditorium, Nicosia / 8.30pm

 Cello performance by Rohan de Saram

Presentation with image and text by Nouritza Matossian

 Architect of Sound, The Life and Music of Iannis Xenakis:

Xenakis’ biographer, Nouritza Matossian expertly guides us through the exciting and complex universe of Xenakis. With narration, images and film, we gain intimate access to Xenakis’ music as she introduces the solo cello works performed by distinguished maestro, cellist Rohan de Saram, a favoured performer of the composer himself.

Nouritza Matossian is acclaimed internationally for her solo performances based on her biography of Arshile Gorky. In this new production we discover how the young Xenakis nearly lost his life in war-torn Athens and escaped to Paris, fought for his revolutionary designs with world-famous architect Le Corbusier, and imposed his far-reaching ideas of Chaos Theory in composition. Each of the cello solo works is introduced, starting with Bach, Kodaly, and Xenakis’ cello masterpieces. The concert ends with a work by German American composer Rolf Gehlhaar composed, and dedicated to Matossian, after his participation in the Cyprus Music Workshop in 1973.

Works by Bach, Kodály, Xenakis and Gehlhaar.

Programme:

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

Cello Suite No. 3 in C Major BWV 1009

Prelude (5)

Zoltán Kodály (1882-1967)

Cello Sonata Op. 8

Finale (10)

Iannis Xenakis (1922-2001)

Nomos Alpha (1965-6) (14)

Iannis Xenakis (1922-2001)

Kottos (1977) (10)

Rolf Gehlhaar

Solipse (1974) (10)

 

SATURDAY 2 DECEMBER, 2006

SCREENING OF BBC 2 DOCUMENTARY 'SOMETHING RICH AND STRANGE' and DVD SCREENING OF ‘THE LEGEND OF ER’
Introduced by Nouritza Matossian

ARtos Foundation, Nicosia / 8.00pm

'Something Rich and Strange'1991 (50’)

A shy man, Xenakis was persuaded to take part in a film after recovering from a grave illness. Mark Kidel directed this beautiful documentary film, co-produced by Nouritza Matossian with Dennis Marks. Xenakis returns to his school in Spetsai and his wartime memories in Athens. His early inspiration in classical Greece, galactic movements, the clashes of nature are set against his music with marvellous footage of his architecture with Le Corbusier, Sound and Light performances and fascinating interviews in his Paris studio. This film has become the most popular documentary on Xenakis, repeatedly broadcast in France at the time of his death in 2001.

Nouritza Matossian talks about the making of the film and answers questions.  

The Legend of Er, 1977

‘I wanted to bring down the stars and make them move.’ Xenakis

Xenakis designed several Sound and Light spectacles for specific sites for which he composed both music and lights to be choreographed automatically with computers. The Diatope was commissioned on the occasion of the opening of the Centre Pompidou. Xenakis created a red double-peaked structure lined with netting with thousands of lights, mirrors and lasers on a glass floor. His electronic tape music was played in conjunction with the light show several times a day. In a multi-channel performance we experience a reconstruction of the event in a newly released DVD of the light show and music.

MONDAY 4 DECEMBER, 2006

Illustrated LECTURE: Reveals the dual approach of Xenakis’ work as architect and composer.
Organised in cooperation with the Cyprus Architects Association

ARtos Foundation, Nicosia / 7.30pm

Xenakis, Architect of Chaos

'Iannis Xenakis is the only world class composer with triple careers - as innovative architect, as the Da Vinci of modern music, and as pioneer of computer-aided music and digital arts.' Nouritza Matossian

Matossian relaunches her acclaimed book with an illustrated lecture to demonstrate the unity of Xenakis' architecture and musical radicalism. A designer with Le Corbusier for ten years, Xenakis designed several projects synchronously with musical compositions applying the very same rules and principles. Based on her researches with Xenakis himself, Matossian presents one of the most neglected aspects of this exciting and controversial Greek polymath illustrated with over a hundred archival slides and with music. 

BOOK SIGNING AT ALL EVENTS

Xenakis by Nouritza Matossian / Moufflon Publications

This important book is now published in Cyprus by Moufflon Publications in a new edition. It is an updated edition of the 1981 publication, which came out in French and in English, as the first biography of the composer. The new publication was launched at the Festival of Xenakis, South Bank, London, in Autumn 2005.

Copies of the book will be on sale at all the Xenakis events.

‘This book is the fruit of ten years’ collaboration with me. It has become the key work in establishing the different avenues to understanding my work. I can recommend it most highly.’ Iannis Xenakis

‘The seminal book on Xenakis.’ BBC

‘A revealing contribution to the history of the post-war avant-garde.’ The Independent