Xenakis Edition 4: Works for Piano (mode80)

by Iannis Xenakis

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	1.	Evryali 09:54
	2.	Dikhthas, For Violin & Piano 14:41
	3.	Herma 07:47
	4.	Palimpsest, For Piano, 6 Drums, Winds & Strings 12:28
	5.	Ça Sent Le Musc... 01:08
	6.	J'avais Un Amour Autrefois... 01:12
	7.	Une Perdrix Descendait De La Montagne... 01:39
	8.	Trois Moines Crétois... 02:24
	9.	Aujourdui Le Ciel Est Noir... 02:50
	10.	Sousta, Danse 01:36
	11.	Mists 13:02
	12.	A.r. (Hommage à Ravel) 02:35

about

"Fasten your seat belts. This is one real roller coaster of a disc. Aki Takahashi plunges into Evryali as though her life depended on it..." wrote Ivan Moody in his International Record Review review of this disc's original 1999 release.

This reissue now contains an added piece: the first recording of Xenakis's 12 minute 6 Chansons, charming early miniatures written while Xenakis was studying in Paris with Messiaen and Milhaud. They provide a glimpse at Xenakis's early musical interests, influences and roots, documenting a distinct kinship with the piano music of Debussy and Bartók.

This is the first time Xenakis's complete works for solo piano have been collected on a single disc.

They are brilliant, virtuoso masterworks of the 20th century piano literature, whose characteristic traits can be described as "clouds," "sound masses," "nebulae" and galaxies - sounds that are highly expressive and compelling, marked by both the composer's heart and brain.

Diabolically difficult to play, Xenakis himself considered Evryali "...a kind of athletics for hands, body and brain". Its sheer virtuosity and the brilliantly full sound embraces the extreme registers of the keyboard.

Mists indeed invokes its title. It is a work of full of voluminous, opaque clouds interspersed with transparent, pointillistic nebulae; a sonic haze of subtle textures.

Herma's dazzling virtuosity, increasing in speed and intensity, culminates in an outburst of sound requiring the performer to produce an evenness of touch in the piano's extreme registers while playing up to 20 notes a second.

Dikhthas takes advantage of the nature of its two instruments, providing a piano part full of clusters and dense textures while assigning the violin portamento, glissandi, harmonics and quarter-tones. It explores a colorful sonic environment with virtuoso runs for both instruments.

Palimpsest is a sort-of concerto for piano and chamber orchestra, the piano as the lead instrument pits itself against the energetic sounds of the ensemble.

A.r. was commissioned by Radio France for the 50th anniversary of Ravel's death. Its conciseness and virtuosity make it an ideal encore piece.

credits

released February 6, 1999

Aki Takahashi, piano

Art Direction – Brian Brandt
Composed By – Iannis Xenakis
Engineer – David Walters* (tracks: 2, 3), Tobias Lehmann
Engineer, Edited By – Riccardo Schulz (tracks: 1, 11, 12), Tatiana Liberman (tracks: 4)
Liner Notes – Sabine Feisst*
Liner Notes [French Translation] – Martine Jore
Liner Notes [German Translation] – Sabine Feisst*
Photography By [Charles Peltz] – Brian Brandt
Photography By [Jane Peters] – Hanya Chlala
Photography By [Takahashi with Xenakis] – Ms. Takahashi*
Piano – Aki Takahashi
Producer – Brian Brandt (tracks: 1 to 4, 11, 12), Michael Hynes (tracks: 5 to 10)
Remastered By [24-bit Digital] – Francis Milano, Steve Puntollilo*
Notes
Evryali (1973), published by Editions Salabert, recorded at Carnegie Mellon Institute
Dikhthas (1979), published by Editions Salabert, recorded at Troy Music Hall
Herma (1960-61), published by Boosey & Hawkes
Palimpsest (1979), published by Editions Salabert, recorded at Cathedral Of The Immaculate Conception
Six Chansons Pour Piano (1950-51), published by Editions Salabert, recorded at Teldex Studio
Mists (1980), published by Editions Salabert, recorded at Carnegie Mellon Institute
A.r. (1987), published by Editions Salabert, recorded at Carnegie Mellon Institute

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Iannis Xenakis Athina, Greece

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