ergon ensemble
contemporary music, athens
xenakis in first person a tribute
This version of the program was presented during the Athens Festival on June 8th, 2011
Artistic direction - Concept:
Alexandros Mouzas
Texts - Musicological research:
Antonios Antonopoulos
Video: Vicky Betsou
Actor (Xenakis): Giorgos Karamichos
Actor director: Alexandra Georgopoulou
Conductor: Nikos Tsouchlos
ERGON ENSEMBLE
Program
during audience entrance
Diamorphoses (1957) electroacoustic
fisrt part
Dhipli Zyia (1952) for violin and cello
Anaktoria (1969) for 8 musicians
Xenakis Electro-Acoustic Sonorities - excerpts from:
Concret PH (1958),
Orient-Occident (1960),
Hibiki Hana Ma (1969-70),
Polytope de Cluny (1972),
Voyage absolu des Unari vers Andromède (1989)
Charisma (1971) for clarinet and cello
during intermission
Persepolis (1971) electroacoustic
2nd part
Palimpsest (1979) for 11 musicians
Rebonds (2nd mov) (1987-89) for solo percussion
Keren (1986) for solo trombone
O-Mega (1997) for solo percussion and 13 musicians
Iannis Xenakis (1922-2001) is globally known as the avant-garde composer and original thinker who alloyed musical composition with higher mathematics and theoretical physics. His production counts about 150 instrumental, vocal, scenic, electroacoustic and mixed technique works, in addition with a respectable number of influential theoretical articles on music, collected together in books.
Through extended interviews, pictures, videos and autobiographical data presented by a narrator with Xenakis’ own words, the performance offers a closer view to the composer’s way of thinking and a more intimate approach to his idiosyncratic personality. The narration in the first person, in particular, gives to the audience an opportunity to get acquainted with Xenakis, both as an individual and as an author.
The texts, as well as the projected material, have been selected with strict musicological criteria for maximal narration flow consistency, historical accuracy, data density, and informational diversity.