Iannis Xenakis

小簡介
澤納基斯(Xenakis，Iannis)
法籍希臘作曲家。1922年5月29日生于羅馬尼亞東南的布勒伊拉市父親是進出口貿(mào)易經(jīng)濟人，母親是一位音樂愛好者，會演奏鋼琴。羅馬尼亞的民間音樂與家庭的音樂環(huán)境對幼年時代的澤納基斯均深有影響。1932年，澤納基斯隨父母移居希臘。為謀求工程師的前途，父親送他進“雅典綜合技術學校”讀書，問時他也向一位名叫孔杜羅夫(A·Kondourov)的私人教師學習音樂。后來，由于德奧法西斯軸心國的入侵而中斷學業(yè)。1941年，青年的澤納基斯參加了希臘反法西斯的抵抗運動，成為一名積極勇敢的戰(zhàn)士；1944年在一次戰(zhàn)斗中負傷，左眼失明，臉部遭到損害，但他并末因此而退縮，而是更加勇敢地戰(zhàn)斗；1947年被法西斯法庭缺席判處死刑，為躲避政治迫害而流亡巴黎；1965年獲法國國籍。
巴黎的環(huán)境更適合澤納基斯藝術天性的發(fā)展。流亡期間，他一方面在勒·科比希埃(Le Corbusier)的建筑技術事務所工作，另一方面努力地學習音樂，曾先后師從奧涅格、米約、梅西昂等著名音樂家學習作曲。他的早期作品已顯露出喜好抽象思辯和探索“音樂的數(shù)學表現(xiàn)”的傾向，頗有“形式化”，“建筑化”的特征。《轉(zhuǎn)化》〔Metastasis，1953—1954)即是他早期的力作之一。
1955年，澤納基斯發(fā)表論文《序列音樂的危機》，激烈反對序列音樂并宣稱已經(jīng)找到一種新的作曲原理——“隨機作曲法”。接著，他就在《皮托帕克塔》(Pitbo—prakta，1955-1956)等一系列作品中進行了創(chuàng)作試驗。澤納基斯的這個理論，在他1960—1961年的論著《隨機音樂原理》中得到進一步的完善和闡述。
作為一個建筑工程師，澤納基斯曾參加過布魯塞爾1958年萬國博覽會菲利普館的設計，瓦列茲的《電子詩》(Poeme elctronique)——當代電子音樂發(fā)展中的一個重要里程碑，就是應這個陳列館的約請而專門創(chuàng)作的。這次經(jīng)歷給澤納基斯的啟示，是對聲光結合的“視聽音樂”(Musique audio—visulle)這塊新領地的探索?！恫ɡ衅铡?Polytopes，四組樂器，1967)和《珀塞波里斯》(Persepolis，八軌錄音機，1971)就是這類創(chuàng)作試驗的產(chǎn)物。
運用先進的科技手段來輔助音樂創(chuàng)作，始終是澤納基斯全力關注的一個目標。1966年，他在巴黎建立了“音樂的數(shù)學與自動化技術研究會”(EMAMu)；1967年被聘為美國印地安納州大學教授后，又在該校組建了“音樂的數(shù)學與自動化技術中心”(CMMA)。1980年，他領導的小組成功地研制出一種操作簡便的電子作曲機(UPIC)。由計算機控制的這種機器可以將畫在一個光盤上的線條變成動聽的音樂。這樣，只要理解了圖形、線條與音樂的某種聯(lián)系，即使是欠缺作曲的知識和技巧，也可以憑想象“畫”出自己的音樂來。“UPIC”是澤納基斯和他的同事們10多年來潛心研究的結晶，是音樂與現(xiàn)代信息技術相結合的產(chǎn)物。目前，這臺機器已陳放在巴黎科學城中供參觀者試用。
藝術、哲學、科技的結合以及體現(xiàn)在音樂上的多種文化因素的自然交融，是澤納基斯音樂創(chuàng)作的一個基本特征。這是為作曲家本人獨特的個性、經(jīng)歷、知識結構、文化素養(yǎng)以及第二次世界大戰(zhàn)之后富于革新創(chuàng)造的歐洲藝術環(huán)境所決定的。在澤納基斯廣泛的創(chuàng)作領域中，還應當提到的作品有：《?，敗?Herma，鋼琴獨奏，1960—1961)、《苔萊蒂克托》(Terretiktoth，樂隊，1965—1966)、《珀瑟伐薩》(Persephassa，六件打擊樂器，1969)、《霧》(Mista，鋼琴，1980)、《塔蘭》(Thallein，室內(nèi)樂，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.