Iannis Xenakis

小簡(jiǎn)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?wèn)|南的布勒伊拉市父親是進(jìn)出口貿(mào)易經(jīng)濟(jì)人，母親是一位音樂愛好者，會(huì)演奏鋼琴。羅馬尼亞的民間音樂與家庭的音樂環(huán)境對(duì)幼年時(shí)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(jìn)“雅典綜合技術(shù)學(xué)校”讀書，問(wèn)時(shí)他也向一位名叫孔杜羅夫(A·Kondourov)的私人教師學(xué)習(xí)音樂。后來(lái)，由于德奧法西斯軸心國(guó)的入侵而中斷學(xué)業(yè)。1941年，青年的澤納基斯參加了希臘反法西斯的抵抗運(yùn)動(dòng)，成為一名積極勇敢的戰(zhàn)士；1944年在一次戰(zhàn)斗中負(fù)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(guó)國(guó)籍。
巴黎的環(huán)境更適合澤納基斯藝術(shù)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(shù)事務(wù)所工作，另一方面努力地學(xué)習(xí)音樂，曾先后師從奧涅格、米約、梅西昂等著名音樂家學(xué)習(xí)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(xué)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(jī)》，激烈反對(duì)序列音樂并宣稱已經(jīng)找到一種新的作曲原理——“隨機(jī)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(jìn)行了創(chuàng)作試驗(yàn)。澤納基斯的這個(gè)理論，在他1960—1961年的論著《隨機(jī)音樂原理》中得到進(jìn)一步的完善和闡述。
作為一個(gè)建筑工程師，澤納基斯曾參加過(guò)布魯塞爾1958年萬(wàn)國(guó)博覽會(huì)菲利普館的設(shè)計(jì)，瓦列茲的《電子詩(shī)》(Poeme elctronique)——當(dāng)代電子音樂發(fā)展中的一個(gè)重要里程碑，就是應(yīng)這個(gè)陳列館的約請(qǐng)而專門創(chuàng)作的。這次經(jīng)歷給澤納基斯的啟示，是對(duì)聲光結(jié)合的“視聽音樂”(Musique audio—visulle)這塊新領(lǐng)地的探索。《波利托普》(Polytopes，四組樂器，1967)和《珀塞波里斯》(Persepolis，八軌錄音機(jī)，1971)就是這類創(chuàng)作試驗(yàn)的產(chǎn)物。
運(yùn)用先進(jìn)的科技手段來(lái)輔助音樂創(chuàng)作，始終是澤納基斯全力關(guān)注的一個(gè)目標(biāo)。1966年，他在巴黎建立了“音樂的數(shù)學(xué)與自動(dòng)化技術(shù)研究會(huì)”(EMAMu)；1967年被聘為美國(guó)印地安納州大學(xué)教授后，又在該校組建了“音樂的數(shù)學(xué)與自動(dòng)化技術(shù)中心”(CMMA)。1980年，他領(lǐng)導(dǎo)的小組成功地研制出一種操作簡(jiǎn)便的電子作曲機(jī)(UPIC)。由計(jì)算機(jī)控制的這種機(jī)器可以將畫在一個(gè)光盤上的線條變成動(dòng)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(shí)和技巧，也可以憑想象“畫”出自己的音樂來(lái)。“UPIC”是澤納基斯和他的同事們10多年來(lái)潛心研究的結(jié)晶，是音樂與現(xiàn)代信息技術(shù)相結(jié)合的產(chǎn)物。目前，這臺(tái)機(jī)器已陳放在巴黎科學(xué)城中供參觀者試用。
藝術(shù)、哲學(xué)、科技的結(jié)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(gè)基本特征。這是為作曲家本人獨(dú)特的個(gè)性、經(jīng)歷、知識(shí)結(jié)構(gòu)、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(shù)環(huán)境所決定的。在澤納基斯廣泛的創(chuàng)作領(lǐng)域中，還應(yīng)當(dāng)提到的作品有：《?，敗?Herma，鋼琴獨(dú)奏，1960—1961)、《苔萊蒂克托》(Terretiktoth，樂隊(duì)，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.