Iannis Xenakis

小简介
泽纳基斯(Xenakis，Iannis)
法籍希腊作曲家。1922年5月29日生于罗马尼亚东南的布勒伊拉市父亲是进出口贸易经济人，母亲是一位音乐爱好者，会演奏钢琴。罗马尼亚的民间音乐与家庭的音乐环境对幼年时代的泽纳基斯均深有影响。1932年，泽纳基斯随父母移居希腊。为谋求工程师的前途，父亲送他进“雅典综合技术学校”读书，问时他也向一位名叫孔杜罗夫(A·Kondourov)的私人教师学习音乐。后来，由于德奥法西斯轴心国的入侵而中断学业。1941年，青年的泽纳基斯参加了希腊反法西斯的抵抗运动，成为一名积极勇敢的战士；1944年在一次战斗中负伤，左眼失明，脸部遭到损害，但他并末因此而退缩，而是更加勇敢地战斗；1947年被法西斯法庭缺席判处死刑，为躲避政治迫害而流亡巴黎；1965年获法国国籍。
巴黎的环境更适合泽纳基斯艺术天性的发展。流亡期间，他一方面在勒·科比希埃(Le Corbusier)的建筑技术事务所工作，另一方面努力地学习音乐，曾先后师从奥涅格、米约、梅西昂等着名音乐家学习作曲。他的早期作品已显露出喜好抽象思辩和探索“音乐的数学表现”的倾向，颇有“形式化”，“建筑化”的特征。《转化》〔Metastasis，1953—1954)即是他早期的力作之一。
1955年，泽纳基斯发表论文《序列音乐的危机》，激烈反对序列音乐并宣称已经找到一种新的作曲原理——“随机作曲法”。接着，他就在《皮托帕克塔》(Pitbo—prakta，1955-1956)等一系列作品中进行了创作试验。泽纳基斯的这个理论，在他1960—1961年的论着《随机音乐原理》中得到进一步的完善和阐述。
作为一个建筑工程师，泽纳基斯曾参加过布鲁塞尔1958年万国博览会菲利普馆的设计，瓦列兹的《电子诗》(Poeme elctronique)——当代电子音乐发展中的一个重要里程碑，就是应这个陈列馆的约请而专门创作的。这次经历给泽纳基斯的启示，是对声光结合的“视听音乐”(Musique audio—visulle)这块新领地的探索。《波利托普》(Polytopes，四组乐器，1967)和《珀塞波里斯》(Persepolis，八轨录音机，1971)就是这类创作试验的产物。
运用先进的科技手段来辅助音乐创作，始终是泽纳基斯全力关注的一个目标。1966年，他在巴黎建立了“音乐的数学与自动化技术研究会”(EMAMu)；1967年被聘为美国印地安纳州大学教授后，又在该校组建了“音乐的数学与自动化技术中心”(CMMA)。1980年，他领导的小组成功地研制出一种操作简便的电子作曲机(UPIC)。由计算机控制的这种机器可以将画在一个光盘上的线条变成动听的音乐。这样，只要理解了图形、线条与音乐的某种联系，即使是欠缺作曲的知识和技巧，也可以凭想象“画”出自己的音乐来。“UPIC”是泽纳基斯和他的同事们10多年来潜心研究的结晶，是音乐与现代信息技术相结合的产物。目前，这台机器已陈放在巴黎科学城中供参观者试用。
艺术、哲学、科技的结合以及体现在音乐上的多种文化因素的自然交融，是泽纳基斯音乐创作的一个基本特征。这是为作曲家本人独特的个性、经历、知识结构、文化素养以及第二次世界大战之后富于革新创造的欧洲艺术环境所决定的。在泽纳基斯广泛的创作领域中，还应当提到的作品有：《埃玛》(Herma，钢琴独奏，1960—1961)、《苔莱蒂克托》(Terretiktoth，乐队，1965—1966)、《珀瑟伐萨》(Persephassa，六件打击乐器，1969)、《雾》(Mista，钢琴，1980)、《塔兰》(Thallein，室内乐，1984)等。
by Jason Ankeny
In applying mathematical and physical laws to the composition of music, Iannis Xenakis exposed the implicit connections between science and art -- rooted in theories of statistical probability, his stochastic method revolutionized not only the composition of music but also its performance, exploring the boundaries of sound and space. Born of Greek parentage in Braïla, Romania on May 29, 1922, Xenakis returned to Greece at age ten, later studying engineering at Athens Polytechnic University. He relocated to Paris in 1947, honing his skills as a composer under the tutelage of Honegger, Milhaud and Messiaen, and in 1954 completed his first major work, Metastasis for Orchestra. For over a decade Xenakis also worked with the renowned French architect Le Corbusier, most notably contributing to the design of the Philips Pavilion for the 1958 Brussels International Fair.
Xenakis' engineering studies and architectural work directly impacted his musical ideas (and vice versa) -- on the belief that composition develops outside of music, he built upon mathematical and philosophical principles to develop his stochastic theory (adapting the name from "stochos," the Greek word for "goal"). Xenakis explored the inner structural organization of composing, applying theories of statistical probability to discover the interrelationships between organized sound and music; with the advent of computer technology, he translated his findings into programs which created new compositional families. Xenakis broke further ground in his studies of spatial dynamics -- positioning musicians throughout an auditorium according to kinetic principles, he pursued a perfect sonic balance based upon the distribution of sound from a multitude of directions.
Works including 1956's Pithoprakta and 1957's Diamorphoses launched Xenakis to the forefront of the avant-garde, and he continued pushing the envelope with subsequent pieces including 1958's Duel (a composition based on the principles of game theory) and 1962's Bohor (his first major electronic project). As the complex rhythms of ensemble compositions like 1963's Eonta gave way to full-blown orchestral scores including 1969's Oresteia, in the interim Xenakis directed much of his energies towards guiding the Centre d' Études de Mathématique et Automatique Musicales (CEMAMu), which he founded at the Sorbonne in 1966. Although his oeuvre includes works for ballet and theater, tape constructions and even vocal music, from the mid-'70s onward the majority of Xenakis' compositions grew from orchestral and instrumental origins. After suffering poor health for some years, Iannis Xenakis died at his home in Paris on February 4, 2001.
by Jason Ankeny
In applying mathematical and physical laws to the composition of music, Iannis Xenakis exposed the implicit connections between science and art -- rooted in theories of statistical probability, his stochastic method revolutionized not only the composition of music but also its performance, exploring the boundaries of sound and space. Born of Greek parentage in Braïla, Romania on May 29, 1922, Xenakis returned to Greece at age ten, later studying engineering at Athens Polytechnic University. He relocated to Paris in 1947, honing his skills as a composer under the tutelage of Honegger, Milhaud and Messiaen, and in 1954 completed his first major work, Metastasis for Orchestra. For over a decade Xenakis also worked with the renowned French architect Le Corbusier, most notably contributing to the design of the Philips Pavilion for the 1958 Brussels International Fair.
Xenakis' engineering studies and architectural work directly impacted his musical ideas (and vice versa) -- on the belief that composition develops outside of music, he built upon mathematical and philosophical principles to develop his stochastic theory (adapting the name from "stochos," the Greek word for "goal"). Xenakis explored the inner structural organization of composing, applying theories of statistical probability to discover the interrelationships between organized sound and music; with the advent of computer technology, he translated his findings into programs which created new compositional families. Xenakis broke further ground in his studies of spatial dynamics -- positioning musicians throughout an auditorium according to kinetic principles, he pursued a perfect sonic balance based upon the distribution of sound from a multitude of directions.
Works including 1956's Pithoprakta and 1957's Diamorphoses launched Xenakis to the forefront of the avant-garde, and he continued pushing the envelope with subsequent pieces including 1958's Duel (a composition based on the principles of game theory) and 1962's Bohor (his first major electronic project). As the complex rhythms of ensemble compositions like 1963's Eonta gave way to full-blown orchestral scores including 1969's Oresteia, in the interim Xenakis directed much of his energies towards guiding the Centre d' Études de Mathématique et Automatique Musicales (CEMAMu), which he founded at the Sorbonne in 1966. Although his oeuvre includes works for ballet and theater, tape constructions and even vocal music, from the mid-'70s onward the majority of Xenakis' compositions grew from orchestral and instrumental origins. After suffering poor health for some years, Iannis Xenakis died at his home in Paris on February 4, 2001.