This work has been partially translated with an automatic translator. Some sentences and technical wording might be imprecise.
ANTONOPOULOS Antonios, De la modélisation matricielle dans Pithoprakta de Iannis Xenakis, Approche systémique et analytique, thèse de doctorat, Paris, université Paris 4, 2008, 481 p.
This thesis focuses on the first part of Pithoprakta, which is built on the basis of composed sound and is fully formalized and governed by a matrix with two natures, one scientific (continuous probabilities) and the other musical (four types of sound), which interact via sound plastic (planning graphs and graphic scores). Segmentation is performed using the golden section. For linear distributions: 1. durations (hits, “empty durations”, pitches): “radium” formula; 2. density progression: Poisson formula,3. Heights: adapted radium formula. Finally, the construction of the aggregates is obtained by superimposing independently calculated instrumental lines, and their succession is effected by the founding tone line of the instrumental lines (general generic tone: E0 at bar 40) (Antonios Antonopoulos).
BALTENSPERGER André, Iannis Xenakis und die Stochastische Musik. Komposition im Spannungsfeld von Architektur und Mathematik, Zürich, Paul Haupt, 1995, 709p.
From a doctoral thesis defended in 1987. In-depth study of early works, Metastaseis and ST works. Three parts: 1) on the early period: a) biography of the first steps; b) analysis of the works in question; c) Xenakis’s work with Le Corbusier; d) analysis of Metastaseis; 2) study of the notion of stochastic music 3) analysis of the ST program and ST works. The whole is punctuated by useful diagrams and references. The analysis of Metastaseis is very thorough.
BARTHEL-CALVET Anne-Sylvie, Le rythme dans l’œuvre et la pensée de Xenakis, thèse de doctorat, Paris, Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales, 2000, 1189 p. (705 p. + 484 p.).
In six chapters, the author examines the various implications of the notion of rhythm, both in Xenakis’s writings and in his musical works. Starting with the original conceptions of time developed by this composer, she analyzes, among other things: the role of rhythmic writing in the morphology of Xenakian textures; new concepts, such as differential duration, date of occurrence, density, speed and sound kinematics, as well as rhythmic aspects of formal organization. After reflecting on the relationship between rhythm and formalization, the study concludes with the place of Xenakian rhythmic writing among that of its contemporaries.
BIASE Salvatore di, Musica e matematica negli anni 50-60 : Iannis Xenakis, Bologne, Universida degli Studi di Bologna, 1994, 484p.
BRIDOUX-MICHEL Séverine, Le Corbusier, Iannis Xenakis. Un dialogue architecture / musique, Marseille, Éditions Imbernon, 2018, 200 p.
A study of the architecture-music relationship through the Le Corbusier / Xenakis case. The author first examines the relationship between Le Corbusier and music, then between Xenakis and architecture; she then develops the conjunction around the Philips Pavilion.
Centre Georges Pompidou-Xenakis, Le Diatope : geste de lumière et de son, Paris, Centre Georges Pompidou, s.d. (vers 1978), 24p.
The Diatope program. Cf. articles by J. Millier, M. Fleuret and Xenakis. Also includes the five excerpts (from Plato, Hermes Trismegistus, Blaise Pascal, Jean-Paul Richter and Robert P. Kirschner) serving as the “program” for la Légende d’Eer.
CHARLES Daniel, La pensée de Xenakis, Boosey and Hawkes, 1968, 29p.
The author takes Xenakis at his word, emphasizing his “Pythagoreanism”, his “naturalism”, etc…
CHOUVEL Jean-Marc, Iannis Xenakis ou l’avenir de la musique, Paris, Observatoire Musical Français, 2002, 108p.
Includes two texts: 1) a detailed analysis of A l’île de Gorée, taken from the author’s doctoral thesis, which focuses on pitch and sonority (called “elementary models”), then on form; 2) an article on Xenakis and French music.
CUBILLAS Morales Juan Manuel, Iannis Xenakis, Nomos alpha : una aproximacion inicial hacia el analisis de un encuentro, en el siglo XX, entre la musica y la matematica (Teoria de Grupos), Valparaiso, Universidad Catolica, 1993, 228p.
DA SILVA SANTANA Helena Maria, L’orchestration chez Iannis Xenakis : l’espace et le rythme fonctions du timbre, thèse de doctorat, Université de Paris IV, 1998, 461p. (publication : Presses Universitaires du Septentrion, Villeneuve D’Ascq, 1999).
An important work, based on precise analyses. In the second part, entitled “The space function of timbre”, the author analyzes aspects of Retours-Windungen, Alax, Eonta, Terretektorh, Nomos gamma, Persephassa and Polytopes. In the third, “Rhythm as a function of timbre”, aspects of Psappha, Nuits, Serment-Orkos, Sea-Nymphs, Metastaseis, Jalons and Koïranoï are analyzed. The first section deals briefly with some of Xenakis’ general ideas.
DI SCIPIO Agostino (ed.), Perspectives on Xenakis = Journal of New Music Research vol. 33 n° 2, 2004, 183 p.
Cf. articles by : Carlos Agon (et Moreno Andreatta, Gérard Assayag, Stéphan Schaub), Agostino Di Scipio, Michael Hamman, Peter Hoffmann, Damian Keller (et Brian Ferneyhough), Makis Solomos.
DONTAS Nikos A. (ed), I Kathimerini, 2 février 2003 : « Iannis Xenakis », supplément du journal, Nikos A. Dontas (ed), Athènes, 31p.
Short articles by Nikos Dontas, Iannis Ioannidis, Claus-Steffen Mahnkopf, Dora Panagopoulou, Makis Solomos, Iannis Svolou, Françoise Xenakis, Iannis Xenakis, Giorgos Zervos.
DOUBOV Mikhail, Iannis Xenakis – arhitektor noveyshey musuki, thèse de doctorat, Conservatoire P.I. Tchaikovskogo, 2008.
Chapter 1, “Ways of a musical composition”, outlines the basic marks of Xenakis’s creative way […]. Chapter 2, “About engineering of a composition” is devoted to studying concrete methods of Xenakis’s engineering: stochastic, sieves and others. Chapter 3, “Analytical etudes”, analyzes compositions: Jonchaies, Mists, Herma, Eonta (E. Ferapontova).
EICHERT Randolph, Iannis Xenakis und die mathematische Grundlagenforschung, Saarbrücken, Pfau Verlag : Fragmen 5, 1994, 41p.
Reflections on the attempt to “found” music, paralleling the question of foundations in mathematics.
Entretemps n°6 : « Dossier Iannis Xenakis », 1988, p. 57-143.
Cf. articles by J. Caullier, P. Dusapin, Cl. Helffer, F. Nicolas, J. Vriend et Xenakis.
EXARCHOS Dimitris, Iannis Xenakis and Sieve Theory: An Analysis of the Late Music (1984-1993), Ph.D. dissertation, Goldsmiths College, University of London, 2008, 221 p. + volume d’annexes.
This thesis comprises a theoretical and analytical approach to the late music of Iannis Xenakis. Part I is an investigation of Xenakis’s theory of outside-time musical structures. Part II is preoccupied with Sieve Theory; Xenakis’s analytical algorithm and the sieves of 1980-1993 are explored in Part III, in order to provide a methodology for sieve analysis. The thesis concludes that Xenakis employed Sieve Theory in his late period in order to achieve various degrees of symmetry and periodicity (D. Exarchos).
EXARCHOS Dimitris (ed.), Proceedings of the Xenakis International Symposium, London 1-3 April 2011, www.gold.ac.uk/ccmc/xenakis-international-symposium/programme.
Cf. articles by Pavlos Antoniadis, Antonios Antonopoulos, Anne-Sylvie Barthel-Calvet, Eldon Fayers, James Harley, Peter Hoffmann, Boris Hofmann, Ryo Ikeshiro, Mihu Iliescu, Phivos-Angelos Kollias, Sergio Luque, Matthew Mendez, José Luis Menegotto, Renaud Meric, Kostas Paparrigopoulos, Andreas Skouras, Andriana Soulele, Ronald Squibbs, Stefanos Thomopoulos.
FERAPONTOVA Elena V., Iannis Xenakis. Vocal creativity (en russe), Moscou, Editiosn « Composer », Moscow, 2011. 238 p.
Book based on the author’s doctoral thesis (see below).
FERAPONTOVA Elena V., Vokalnaya musuka Iannisa Xenakisa kak fenomen ego kompositorskogo tvorchestva [Iannis Xenakis’s vocal music as a phenomenon of his creativity, PhD dissertation, Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory, 2008), 224 p. + annexes.
The author emphasizes a special role of vocal works in the general heritage of the composer […] Chapter 1 “Line of the life”. […] Chapter 2 “Through the Avant-garde to Antiquity. Music to antique tragedies” considers the problems of an embodiment of antique plots on a modern stage in connection with Xenakis’s article “Notice sur Oresteïa”. […] Chapter 3 “The avant-garde vocal on a concert stage. Choral compositions” is devoted to choral compositions for chorus with an orchestra and a cappella (E. Ferapontova).
FLEURET Maurice, Xenakis, discothèque de Paris, 1972, 63p.
Written for a general readership, this little booklet evokes Xenakis’ past, the links between his music and mathematics, his relationships with performers, his electroacoustic works and the spatialization of some of his works. It concludes with an interview with the composer (see Interviews).
FLEURET Maurice, Xenakis, Paris, Salabert, 1978, 70p.
Catalog of works, bibliography and discography.
FLINT Ellen R., An investigation of real time as evidenced by the structural and formal multiplicities in Iannis Xenakis’ Psappha, Ph. D., University of Maryland College Park, 1989, 672p. (Ann Arbor, Michigan : University Microfilms Incorporated, UMI #9012457).
Using the language of mathematics to guide the compositional process, Xenakis created, in Psappha, an aural manifestation of the abstractions required for the perception of time and the reconstruction of past events in the form of new content. This work presents an exhaustive analysis of the rhythmic and formal structures of this important piece for solo percussion, and offers a detailed discussion of the mathematical principles and theories underlying the composition. The study also examines sieve theory and its distinction between off-time, temporal and in-time structures, in relation to Psappha (E.F.).
GEORGAKI Anastasia, SOLOMOS Makis (ed.), Proceedings of the « International Symposium Iannis Xenakis », Athènes, University of Athens, 2005, 387 p. Sélection des articles in http://www.iannis-xenakis.org.
Articles by : Christina Anagnostopoulou (and Chris Share, Darrell Conklin), Antonios Antonopoulos, Anne-Sylvie Barthel-Calvet, Minas Borboudakis, Séverine Bridoux-Michel, Frederick Carrilho (and Jonatas Manzolli, Adolfo Maia), Ilias Chrissochoidis (and Stavros Chouliaras, Christos Mitsakis), Pierre Couprie, Agostino Di Scipio, Mikhail Doubov, Dimitris Exarchos, Elena Ferapontova, Sotiris Fotopoulos, Anastasia Georgaki, Benoît Gibson, Leontios Hadjileontiadis, James Harley, Joris de Henau, Boris Hofmann, Mihu Iliescu, Konstantinos Kakavelakis, Dimitris Lekkas, Sander van Maas, Fotis Mousoulides, Chris Murray, Kostas Paparrigopoulos, Helena Santana (and Rosario Santana), Stephan Schaub, Andrej Slavik, Benny Sluchin, Makis Solomos, Haralambos Spyridis, Ronald Squibbs, Markos Tsetsos, Kostas Tsougras, Charles W. Turner, Evaggelia Vagopoulou, Kathleen Wong (and Kevin Jones), Katrin Zenz (et Kostas Theodorakos), Athanasios Zervas, Giorgos Zervos.
GERHARDS Hugues (éd.), Regards sur Iannis Xenakis, Paris, Stock, 1981, 416p.
A tribute to Xenakis: this book contains 48 short writings (cf. articles by G. Amy, Cl. Barnes, J. Barraud, J. Batigne, N. Beecroft, J.Y. and D. Bosseur, M.F. Bucquet, R. de Candé, G. Casado, A. de Chambure, E. Chojnacka, M. Couraud, X. Darasse, G. Dmitriev, P. Dusapin and H. Halbreich, G. von Eller, R. Fajond, M. Fleuret, E. Fulchignoni, D. Gill, S. Gualda, Cl. Helffer, B. Jacobson, M. Kendergi, M. Kundera, J. Lacouture, J. Leber, L. Leprince-Ringuet, M. Leroux, J. Maceda, F.B. Mâche, N. Matossian, O. Messiaen, A. Meunier, J. Miermont, I. Monighetti, S. Ozawa, M. Philippot, Ch. Prost, M. Ragon, F. Rieunier, A. Riotte, M. Rollin, P. Schaeffer, C. Taranu, G. Tremblay and J. Vriend). Also included is a brief biography, a list of awards received by Xenakis and a list of cities where his works were premiered.
GIBSON Benoît, Théorie et pratique dans la musique de Iannis Xenakis : à propos du montage, thèse de doctorat, Paris, Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales, 2003, 375p.
With the help of precise, detailed musical analyses, this work shows that Xenakis often practiced “montage”, i.e. the reuse of materials from his own works, transforming them according to several processes: montage proper, manipulations (sounds in reverse, sequencing, mixing, micromontage) and treatments. The work is preceded by a first part that deals with the various Xenakian “theories” (stochastic, screens, groups, cellular automata), according to original approaches. The author has taken as his corpus virtually the entire body of Xenakian work, and the thesis concludes with a list of the works in which we can read their genealogy (according to the materials a work has borrowed from an earlier work).
GIBSON Benoît, The Instrumental Music of Iannis Xenakis. Theory, Practice, Self-Borrowing, Hillsdale, New York, Pendragon Press, 2011, 232 p.
Based on the author’s doctoral thesis, this book on the instrumental music of Iannis Xenakis is divided into two parts: a practical part and a theoretical part. The practical part deals with Xenakis’s borrowings from his own music. These borrowings are analyzed in terms of their dimensions and the technical processes employed to transform them: montage, manipulation and transformation. The theoretical part includes chapters on stochastic music, sieve theory, group structures, graphic processes and cellular automata. These compositional techniques are studied not in relation to their theoretical substrate, but in terms of their application. At the end of the book, the author presents in tabular form a genealogy of Xenakis’ works, listing borrowings from his own works.
HARLEY James, Kraanerg, Farnham, Ashgate, 2015, 138 p.
A detailed study of Kraanerg : biography of Xenakis; before Kraanerg ; the project of the work; analysis of the musical work; reception; history of performances. Includes numerous musical examples and a CD to follow the analyses.
HARLEY James, Iannis Xenakis: Kraanerg, Farnham, Surrey, UK, Ashgate, 2015, 154p.
Kraanerg by Iannis Xenakis is one of the most important works of the post-1950 era. James Harley, a leading Xenakis scholar, presents the genesis of Kraanerg, from the granting of the commission to the choreographer, to the selection of Xenakis as composer, to the premiere, recording, and subsequent presentations. The book is written with the benefit of access to sketches and recordings in the Xenakis Archives, allowing Harley to delve into the details of how this particular work came about. An overview of Xenakis’s life is provided, looking at his major works and important compositional techniques and accomplishments, as well as looking at the presenters of the work and other principles in the performance history. Harley presents analytical and critical discussions of Kraanerg‘s music and reception, including the relationship of the score to the recorded parts. The book is accompanied by a CD, which helps to conceptualize the extremely complex score.
HARLEY James, Xenakis. His Life in Music, New York, Routledge, 2004, 279 p.
An analytical book on several aspects of Xenakis’ work, comprising eight chapters: “The Outsider”; “From the Personal to the Individual”; “From Architecture to Algorithm”; “The Voice, the Stage, and a New Conception of Time”; “Arborescences, Random Walks, and Cosmic Conceptions”; “Sieves, Ensembles, and Thought of Death”; “Melody, Harmonic Color, and Nonlinear Form”; “The Late Works: Abstraction and Intensity”. The set follows a chronological order and consists of brief analyses of virtually all Xenakis’s pieces. It is accompanied by musical examples and charts. Many of the figures not published in the book can be found at: http://www.uoguelph.ca/~digimus/xenakis.
HARLEY James (ed.), In memoriam Iannis Xenakis = Computer Music Journal vol. 26 n°1, Cambridge (Massachussetts), MIT, 2002, p. 16-86.
Cf. articles by L. Arsenault, A. Di Scipio, J. Harley, E. Jones, G. Pape.
HARLEY James (ed.), Xenakis studies : in memoriam = Contemporary Music Review vol. 21 n°2-3, Oxfordshire, Routledge, 2002, 151p.
Cf. articles by I. Arditti, R. Barrett, J. Harley, P. Hoffmann, M. Iliescu, N. Matossian, P. Oswalt, R. Squibbs, M. Solomos, R. Woodward.
de HEER Jan & Kess TAZELAAR, from Harmony to Chaos, Le Corbusier Varèse Xenakis and Le poème électronique, 2017, Uitgeverij Duizend & Eén | 1001 Publishers, Amsterdam. 262 pages.
A richly documented work on the conceptualization and design of the Philips Pavilion
HOFFMANN Peter, Amalgam aus Kunst und Wissenschaft. Naturwissenschaftliches Denken im Werk von Iannis Xenakis, Frankfurt-am-Main, Peter Lang, 1994, 176p.
The result of an academic project, this book examines the Xenakian alliance between art and science, with reference to Xenakis’s theories and notions of structure, axiomatization, order, transformations, space and time, and dynamic systems.
HOFFMANN Peter, Music Out of Nothing? A Rigorous Approach to Algorithmic Composition by Iannis Xenakis, thèse de doctorat, Berlin, Technischen Universtät Berlin, 2009, 314 p. + appendix.
The author has been working on the GENDYN program since 1995, and has published numerous articles on the subject. This doctoral thesis is the culmination of his research. It is organized in three main parts: 1. a general introduction to computer music, focusing on the figure of Xenakis; 2. sound theory, algorithms, computation, chance and programming issues; 3. the last and most important part, dedicated to the analysis of Gendy3.
HOFMANN Boris, Mitten im Klang. Die Raumkompositionen von Iannis Xenakis aus den 1960er Jahren, thèse de doctorat, Diss. D 83, Berlin, Technische Universität, 2006. Edition : Sinefonia Band 10, Wolke Verlag Hofheim, 2008, 173 p. + volume annexes avec exemples.
The author gives detailed analyses of two spatialized works by Xenakis from the 1960s: Terretektorh and Persephassa. He adopts a rather practical point of view and a new model of virtual space, examines the acoustic impression the listener gains of his or her place, and exposes the variability of space. To describe Xenakis’s spatial aesthetics, he presents spatial compositions as part of a development from Xenakis’s earliest architectural works through to the Polytopes.
Iannis Xenakis. Ena afieroma tou Ethnikou Metsoviou Polytechniou pros enan apofoito tou (Iannis Xenakis. Un don de l’Ethniko Metsovio Polytechnio à l’un de ses anciens étudiants), Athènes, Sygchroni Epochi, 1994, 121p.
This book includes translations of texts (taken from Regards sur Iannis Xenakis), as well as an unpublished interview with Xenakis and an article by I. Papaïoannou.
ILIESCU Mihu, Musical et extramusical. Eléments de pensée spatiale dans l’œuvre de Iannis Xenakis, thèse de doctorat, Université de Paris I, 1996, 393p.
The author poses the question of space in relation to Xenakis’ music in a general sense. Initially, he identifies its philosophical connotations and establishes links with mythical thought, Pythagoreanism, Parmenides, Plato, the ancient polis and Aristoxenus. He then focuses on the arts and sciences, successively examining the paradigm of complexity, chance, new orders, entropy and time, continuity and discontinuity, invariances, strange attractors and automata. Finally, in the third part, he sets out the elements of a morphological theory that he detects in Xenakis, based on the study of masses, arborescences and Polytopes.
JOSEPH Stephen A., The Stochastic Music of Iannis Xenakis : An Examination of his Theory and Practice, Ph. D., New York University, s.d.
KANACH Sharon (éd.), Performing Xenakis, Hillsdale, Hillsdale-New York, Pendragon Press, 2010, 413 p.
Cf. articles by Irvine Arditti, Robert Black, Marie-François Bucquet, Elisabeth Chojnacka, Lori Freedman, Sylvio Gualda, Conrad Harris, Bernhard Hass, Claude Helffer, Kevin McFarland, Milan Kundera, Peter Nelson, Gerard Pape, Geneviève Renon, Claude Ricou-Jean-Paul Bernard, Rachid Safir, Spyros Sakkas, Rohan de Saram Steven Schick, David Schotzko-T. Nikki Cesare, Riccardo Schulz-Juan Pablo Izquierdo, Benny Sluchin, Michel Tabachnik, Yuji Takahashi, Arturo Tamayo, Wilfriedo Terrazas, Stefanos Thomopoulos, Frances-Marie Utti, Roger Woodward.
KANACH Sharon (éd.), Xenakis Matters. Contexts, Processes, Applications, Hillsdale-New York, Pendragon Press, 2012.
Cf. articles by Christopher Ariza, Joel Chadabe, Joseph Clarke, Christopher Dobrian, Ben Duinker, Athanasios Economou et Thomas Grasl, James Harley, Robert Hasegana, Arthur Kampela, Brian Kane, Jimmie Leblanc, Benjamin R. Levy, Eric Lewis, David Lieberman, C. Lovelace, Fabrice Marandola, K. Reynolds et R. Reynolds, Curtis Roads, Robert Rowe, Chris Salter, W. von Schmeinitz, Carl Skelton, Stefan Smulovitz, Ronald Squibbs, Daniel Teige, Olga Touloumi, Roberto Wannameker.KIOURTSOGLOU Elisavet, Le travail de l’analogie dans la musique et l’architecture de Iannis Xenakis, thèse de doctorat, Université Paris 8, 2016, 328 p.
LACROIX Marie-Hortense, Pléiades de Yannis Xenakis, Paris, Michel de Maule, 2001, 106p.
A detailed analysis of the piece, particularly the “Keyboards” section. Among other things, the author underlines the many affinities with gamelan music.
L’Arc n°51 : « Xenakis », 1972, 88p.
Cf. articles by D. Durney, A. Droschke, M. Fleuret, F. Genuys, H. Krellmann, F.B. Mâche, L. Marin, B. Pingaud and O. Revault d’Allonnes, and three interviews of Xenakis with F.B. Mâche, O. Revault d’Allonnes et F. Genuys.
LEBENS James C., An analysis of Keren for solo trombone by Iannis Xenakis: Randomly generated music within a symmetrical framework and performance considerations, Doctoral Thesis, Seattle, University of Washington.
“The purpose of this paper is to facilitate the understanding of some of Xenkis’ compositional techniques through the analysis of Keren. This analysis deliberately avoids complicated mathematical formulas […] and attempts to demonstrate stochastic compositional methods through a more straightforward musical analysis. […] The following analysis isolates many symmetrical patterns […] and demonstrates the probability theory of the ‘random walk’” (J. Lebens).
MÂCHE François-Bernard (éd.), Portrait(s) de Iannis Xenakis, Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale de France, 2001, 227p.
Cf. articles by A.S. Barthel-Calvet, P. Dusapin, M. Fleuret, A. Grumbach, H. Halbreich, P. Hoffmann, S. Kanach, F.B. Mâche, O. Messiaen, M. Solomos, S. Sterken, F. Xenakis, M. Xenakis.
MATOSSIAN Nouritza, Iannis Xenakis, Paris, Fayard, 1981, 325p. Édition anglaise : Xenakis, London, Kahn & Averill, 1986. Réédition : Xenakis, Lefkossia, Moufflon Publications Ltd., 2005, 359 p.
A biography of Xenakis, with a wealth of information on the work itself. The author conducted research by studying Xenakis’ personal documents and interviewing him. With the exception of two chapters grouping the works for theater and polytopes respectively, it follows chronological order. Although published in 1981, it deals essentially with the years 1950-60: only the last chapter deals with the 70s. It comprises 12 chapters: childhood and the Resistance, awakening in Paris, the eruption of the unconscious, stochastic music, the Philips Pavilion, the break with Le Corbusier, formalizing music, the way of reality and the way of appearance, hidden symmetry, total theater, Polytopes, ramifications. The English reprint adds 3 articles (“Artisan of Nature”, “Visible and Invisible Universes”, “A Man to Melt the Icecaps”) and an interview (“Of Being and Necessity”).
MELCHIORRE Alessandro (ed.), Iannis Xenakis. Musicista scienziato architetto, Quaderni di ricerca IRMus 2, Milan, 2006, 239 p.
Articles by : T. Coduys, A. Di Scipio, L. Francesconi, E. Guagenti Grandori, F.B. Mâche, A. Melchiorre, E. Napolitano, G. Manzoni, S. Moreno Soriano, A. Orcalli, G. Pape, P. Perezzani, L. Pestalozza, Q. Principe, E. Restagno, C. Roads, M. Solomos, I. Stoïanova).
Musik-Konzepte n°54-55 : « Iannis Xenakis », 1987, 194p.
Cf. articles by P. Böttinger, R. Frisius, H. Lohner (deux articles) et H.R. Zeller and an interview of H. Lohner with Xenakis.
MusikTexte vol.13 : « Iannis Xenakis », 1986, p. 17-60.
Contains two articles by R. Frisius, an essay by H.R. Zeller and a translation of an article by Xenakis.
MusikTexte n°89, n°90 : « Iannis Xenakis », Köln, 2001.
A two-issue tribute to Xenakis after his death. Includes short tribute texts by musicians or friends of Xenakis, as well as more developed texts by musicologists. Articles by J. Antunes, I. Arditti, J. Chadabe, E. Chojnacka, J. Estrada, M. Etkin, O. Finnendahl, I. Froundberg, P. Hoffmann, M. Iliescu, S. Kanach, Jô. Kondo, F.B. Mâche, R. Mandolini, G. Pape, G. Paraskevaidis, R. Platz, H. Pousseur, R. Reynlds, J.A. Riedl, S. Schleiermacher, Y. Shaked, M. Solomos, S. Sterken, Y. Takahashi, D. Terzakis, O.A. Thommessen, R. Toop, M. Trochimczyk, H.R. Zeller.
Muzyka vol.XLIII n°4 : « Swiat Xenakisa », Varsovie, Instytut PAN, 1998, 166p.
Cf. articles by B. Gibson, J. Harley, M.A. Harley, P. Hoffmann, M. Iliescu, R. Squibbs
NAKIPBEKOVA Alfia (éd.), Exploring Xenakis. Performance, Practice, Philosophy, Delaware, Vernon Press, 2019, 132 p.
Cf. articles by Dimitris Exarchos, Reinhold Friedl, Benoît Gibson, Allanah Marie Haley et Michael D. Atkinson, Alfia Nakipbekova, Makis Solomos, Marina Sudo.
Nutida Musik vol.10 n°5, 1966/1967.
Nutida Musik vol.28, n°3, 1984-1985.
ORCALLI Angelo, Le hasard se calcule—Una tesi di Iannis Xenakis, Padova, Imprimitur, 1990, 143p.
Cf. in « Articles et autres écrits majeurs », Angello Orcalli, Fenomenologia della musica sperimentale.
PALAND Ralph, BLUMRÖDER Christoph von (ed.), Iannis Xenakis : Das elektroakustische Werk. Internationales Symposion Musikwissenschaftliches Institut der Universität zu Köln, Vienne, Verlag der Apfel, 2009, 260 p.
Cf. articles by C. von Blumröder, M. Brech, R. Brotbeck, A. Di Scipio, S. Emmerson, R. Frisius, F. Geiger, J. S. Grintsch, J. Harley, F. Hentschel, P. Hoffmann, T. Hünermann, S. Kanach, R. Paland, G. Pape, M. Solomos, D. Teruggi, W. Gratzer.
PROVOST Serge (éd.), Espace Xenakis = Circuits vol.5 n°2, 1994, p. 1-81.
Cf. articles by M. Couroux, S. Galaise, B. Gibson, S. Provost et M. Solomos.
RAHN John (ed.), Perspectives of New Music vol. 39 n°1 : « In memoriam Xenakis », 2001 (part 1), vol. 39 n°2, 2001 (part 2), vol. 41 n°1, 2002 (part 3).
A tribute after Xenakis’s death in 3 issues: cf. articles by E. Jones, S. Kanach, R. Peck, J. Rahn, R. Reynolds, M. Solomos, R. Squibbs, S. Sterken.
RESTAGNO Enzo (ed.), Xenakis, Torino, EDT/Musica, 1988, 315p.
Contains translations and original contributions: cf. articles by M. Fleuret, H. Halbreich, F.B. Mâche, E. Napolitano, E. Restagno and Xenakis, as well as an interview by the composer with E. Restagno. This is followed by a catalog of works, including those composed before Metastaseis.
REVAULT D’ALLONNES Olivier, Xenakis : Les Polytopes, Paris, Balland, 1975, 135p.
An invaluable document: a collection of sketches and photos of the Polytopes. At the same time, the author sets out an aesthetic and philosophical discourse on Xenakis.
Revue Musicale n°257 : « Yannis Xenakis et la musique stochastique », 1963, 24p.
Cf. articles by J. Barraud, M. Philippot et A. Richard.
SCHMIDT Christoph, Komposition und Spiel. Zu Iannis Xenakis, Köln, Verl. Schewe (Berliner Musik Studien Bd. 4), 1995, 288p.
The result of a doctoral thesis defended in 1993, this work deals with Xenakis’s works using game theory: Duel, Stratégie and Linaia-Agon. The study is very detailed, and comprises seven chapters: 1) on the mathematical theory of games; 2) analysis of Duel ; 3) analysis of Linaia-Agon ; 4) study of the Xenakian notion of “heteronomous music”; 5) analysis of Stratégie; 6) “Heteronomous composition as game”; 7) “Musical games as art”.
SLÁVIK Andrej, X. Tre etyder över ett tema av Iannis Xenakis (1922–2001) [X. Three études over a theme by Iannis Xenakis (1922–2001)], PhD thesis, Göteborg, Göteborg University, 2011, 321+145 p. (http://hdl.handle.net/2077/26355).
SOLOMOS Makis (Gérassimos), À propos des premières œuvres (1953-69) de I. Xenakis. Pour une approche historique de l’émergence du phénomène du son, thèse de doctorat, Paris, Université de Paris IV, 1993, 675p.
This work is divided into three main parts. The first, of a theoretical nature, studies the emergence of sound in Xenakis (and his contemporaries), while addressing questions of the technicization of music and that of gesture. The second part, based on works composed by Xenakis in the 1950s-60s, studies the development of each of the classical dimensions of sound (pitch, rhythm, register, intensity, space, timbre), then their fusion into global entities, called sonorities – the author breaks down all the works in the corpus into three sonorities: “sliding sounds”, “static” sounds and “punctual sounds”. The final section analyses four works in detail: Pithoprakta, Nomos alpha, Nuits and Persephassa.
SOLOMOS Makis, Iannis Xenakis, Mercuès, P. O. Editions, 1996, 176p. (nouvelle édition en ligne : 2004 : www. http://www.univ-montp3.fr/~solomos/lintro.html)
The first part of this book examines Xenakis’ career, breaking it down into three stages: from works prior to Metastaseis to Musiques formelles, from group theory to arborescences, and from cribles to 1996. In a second, more theoretical part, he takes a detached, general approach to the “Xenakian universe” through: a) a study of the underlying worldview; b) the concept of “sonority”; c) the concept of “gesture” (as opposed to sonority).
SOLOMOS Makis, Ιαννης Ξενακης. Το συμπαν ενος ιδιοτυπου δημιουργου [Iannis Xenakis. L’univers d’un créateur original], Athènes, Alexandreia, 2008, 399 p.
The beginning of the book repeats the 1996 French book, bringing it up to date (chapters: “L’épopée”; “L’utopie”; “Intériorisation”; “Vision du monde”; “Sonorité”; “Geste”). This is followed by 8 published or unpublished articles, addressing a variety of issues (analytical, historical, aesthetic): “Theory and practice. Analyzing the music of Xenakis“; ‘From the Bartókian project to sound’; ‘About the last works’; ‘ Nomos alpha ’s sieves and the question of gaps”; “The first electroacoustic music”; “The Diatope and The Legend of Eer ‘; ’From one Xenakis to another”; “Sculpting sound”. The book concludes with a bibliography and a list of works with suggested interpretations of their titles.
SOLOMOS Makis (ed.), Ιάννης Χενάκης, in Μουσικός Λόγος n°4, 2002, p. 56-102.
Contains translations of articles by François-Bernard Mâche and Makis Solomos as well as the unpublished score by the young Xenakis (June 1952) Πάτημα γοργό.
SOLOMOS Makis (éd.), Iannis Xenakis, Gérard Grisey. La métaphore lumineuse, Paris, L’Harmattan, 2003, p. 149-254.
Cf. articles by Jérôme Baillet, Agostino Di Scipio, Rudolf Frisius, Carmen Pardo, Anne Sédès, Makis Solomos, Georges Zervos.
SOLOMOS Makis (ed.), Iannis Xenakis. La musique électroacoustique / The electroacoustic music, Paris, L’Harmattan, 2015, 334 p.
Articles by : Andrea Arcella-Stefano Silvestri, Agostino Di Scipio, Dimitris Exarchos, Reinhold Friedl, Anastasia Georgaki, Benoît Gibson, James Harley, Boris Hofmann, Peter Hoffmann, Mihu Iliescu, Mikhail Malt, Adriano Monteiro-Said Bonduki, Kostas Paparrigopoulos, Isabel Pires, Curtis Roads, Makis Solomos.
SOLOMOS Makis (ed.), Présences de / Presences of Iannis Xenakis, Paris, CDMC, 2001, 268p.
Cf. articles by L. Arsenault, A. Bello, S. Bertocchi, J. Caullier, F. Delalande et E. Gayou, A. Di Scipio, E. Flint, B. Gibson, M. Guillot, J. Harley, J.L. Hervé, P. Hoffmann, M. Iliescu, A. Lai, C. Limá, R. Mandolini, P. Oswalt, C. Pardo, B. Raanan, H. Santana, E. Sikiaridi, M. Solomos, R. Squibbs, S. Sterken. Includes also a bibliography with comments about works of/from Xenakis.
SQUIBBS Ronald J., An analytical Approach to the Music of Iannis Xenakis : Studies of Recent Works, Ph. D., Yale University, 1996, 557p.
The aim of this thesis is: 1) to classify Xenakian “textures”; 2) to specify structural divisions in accordance with these textures, as well as with transformations of intensity, density, pitch and timbre; 3) to study off-time and in-time temporal structures; 4) to identify general principles in the structure of the instrumental and electroacoustic works studied.
STERKEN Sven, Iannis Xenakis, ingénieur et architecte. Une analyse thématique de l’œuvre, suivie d’un inventaire critique de la collaboration avec Le Corbusier, des projets architecturaux et des installations réalisées dans le domaine du multimédia, thèse de doctorat, Université de Gent, 2004, 559 p.
A highly accomplished work on Xenakis’s architecture, by an author who had access to the archives when they were moved to the Bibliothèque nationale de France. This thesis is divided into three main parts: 1. thematic analysis: Le Corbusier’s workshop, the notion of “volumetric” architecture, reflections on polytopes, analysis of the relationship between architecture and music, the question of “general morphology”; 2. critical index of architectural projects; 3. numerous appendices.
TSANAKAS Christos, Iannis Xenakis, Athènes, Futura, 2001, 118p.
A sum of generalities.
THOMOPOULOS Stéphanos, Le piano xénakien – Des Concepts au langage instrumental : enjeux pour l’interprétation, thèse de doctorat, Paris, Université de la Sorbonne – Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris, 2013, 291p.
VAGOPOULOU Evaggelia, Cultural Tradition and Contemporary Thought in Iannis Xenakis’s Vocal Works, PhD, University of Bristol, 2007, 226 p.
This doctoral thesis is devoted to aspects of Xenakis’s vocal music. The first chapter is an extensive introduction. The second chapter is devoted to L’Orestie, examining its intentions, its relationship to the text and some musical aspects (notably its relation to ancient Greece). The third chapter looks at Nuits, Cendrées and N’Shima. The final chapter is devoted to solo vocal works: Kassandra, Aïs, La Déesse Athéna, Pour Maurice. An appendix to the thesis contains interviews with Spyros Sakkas and Françoise Xenakis.
Xenakis = livret du disque Erato, STU 70526-70530, 1969, 36p.
Contains: a) brief notes by Xenakis on the works in the set; b) extracts from articles by Xenakis; c) sketches of works; d) a text by M. Fleuret; e) a text by F.B. Mâche.
XENAKIS Mâkhi, Iannis Xenakis. Un père bouleversant, Arles, Actes Sud, 215, 231 p.
A biography by the composer’s daughter, punctuated by a wealth of archive documents and concluding with a chapter devoted to the “father”.
ZOICAS TOMA Ligia, Universul gândirii xenakiene oglinda a unui secol cucerit de stiinta [L’univers de la pensée xenakienne, miroir d’un siècle conquis par la science], Bucuresti, Editura Muzicala, 2002.