Music 507: Seminar in Music Composition and Theory
Iannis Xenakis: Structure and Intuition
(Fall 2012)
Time: F 10-12:50
Room: 1140 Music Building (it might change)
Credit: 2 or 4 credits
Prerequisite: Graduate standing in music composition theory, or
consent of instructor.
Iannis Xenakis was one of the foremost 20th century composers who introduced
a completely new way of composing music. The seminar will concentrate on
his music with brief forays into his techniques, aesthetics, and philosophy.
Among the topics to be discussed:
- Brief Historical perspective (August 31)
Political upheavals in post-War Greece.
Xenakis' life: composer, architect, thinker; his personality
European Cultural environment 1950-1970
- Technique (September 7-21)
Stochastic distributions
Markov chains
Sets, Groups, and Sieves
Game Theory
Random Walks and Arboresences
Cellular automata and other techniques
- The music (September 28 - November 30)
Vocal Works
Piano Works
Electro-acoustic Works
Percussion Works
Orchestral Works
Polytopes
String Quartets
Other Chamber Works
- Main features of Xenakis' music; Esthetics and Philosophy (November 30
- December 7)
Textures
Lines
Timbres
Form
Montage
Self-Borrowing
Due to the amount of material to be covered, students will contribute through
class presentations on one or more of the above topics. The final grade
will be based on these contributions and on a substantial final paper
(15-20) pages. The exact topics will be chosen (not exclusively) from
the following categories and according to each person's background and
abilities:
- musical analysis of a piece
- comparative and critical appraisal of available recordings
- performance challenges - lecture demonstration
- discussion of a particular technique in comparison with
other contemporry composers' techniques.
Each meeting will include listening to works or substantial fragments of
works and there will also be listening assignments. Students will be
required to write 1-2 pages of comments after each listening.
Basic sources:
- Francois Delalande - Il faut etre constamment un emmigre. Entretiens avec Xenakis (in French)
- Benoit Gibson - The Instrumental Music of Iannis Xenakis
- James Harley - Xenakis
- Sharon Kanach ed. - Performing Xenakis
- Nouritza Matossian - Xenakis
- Makis Solomos - Iannis Xenakis (in French)
- Balint Andras Vargas - Conversations with Iannis Xenakis
- Iannis Xenakis - Arts/Sciences: Alloys
- Iannis Xenakis - Formalized Music
- Iannis Xenakis - Music and Architecture
- Francois-Bernard Mache ed. - Portrait(s) de Iannis Xenakis (in French)
Sever Tipei may be contacted at 333-6689, in his office (Rm 5052 MB)
- or by email:
- s-tipei@uiuc.edu
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