Xenakis; The Architect

Plan of Xenakis's Amorgos Villa, via Amorgos Island Magazine.

If you follow Centre Iannis Xenakis on Facebook then you'll occasionally see posts from them with links to articles and features about 'Mr X's' architecture . Now of course we all know about the 1958 Phillips Pavillion and the sections of La Tourette Monastery he designed but there's more.

So if you're not already Facebook friends with Le Centre here's a couple of choice examples to be going along with.

Firstly the 'Amorgos Villa' designed between 1966 and 1977 is worth a look...

The vacational house on Amorgos he designed for his daughter and their husband and composer Francois-Bernard Mache. The building complex is located on the slope of a hill, overlooking the northern coast of the Tirokomos gulf, near Lefkes. The nearest settlement stands 200 m higher: it is Aghia Thekla, typical of the traditional Cycladic nineteenth century architecture.

Link to article..(includes video, which is nice).

Second, the (currently unrealised) house Xenakis designed for composer Roger Reynolds which was recently 3d printed as a model by LMNts.


The 'Reynolds house', link to article here.

Finally, this discussion from 1992 about 'computer music' between Reynolds, Paul Lansky, Xenakis and François-Bernard Mâche is probably worthy of your attention.

In Honour of George Perle

George Perle, via his site.

I spotted on Alex Ross's blog that George Perle has died (on Friday the 23rd of January), he was 93.

Ross's post includes a fine piece of Perle's you can stream. More available than his music (for some unknown reason) are his books, two I own and recommend are Twelve-Tone Tonality, and Serial Composition and Atonality.

Twelve-Tone Tonality is unique, at least from what I have read on the subject (harmony in general), it's worth looking at if you are interested in non-diatonic/tertiary harmony.

I intend to get his book 'The Listening Composer' soon also (might order it later actually, EDIT: done).

Recordings of his music seem less easy to obtain, I would like to hear his Wind Quintets performed by the Dorian Wind Quintet but the CD is nearly £20 so I think i'll pass for now.

If anyone has any CD recommendations at a 'nice' price please let me know.

Incidentally, Complement.Inversion.Etc favourite Paul Lanksy was one of Perle's students.

Also linked to on Ross's blog here is the New York Times obit.

Rest in peace Mr Perle.

EDIT: this news is also featured/discussed on Sequenza 21.