Iannis Xenakis (feat. Weasel Walter) - Music for Strings

"Xenakis' music has become increasingly well-known among people involved in hearing or creating contemporary classical music, and so his relatively unusual circumstances no longer present a barrier to his public reception. Iannis Xenakis (1922-2001) had a colorful young life. He was seriously wounded as a Greek resistance fighter, and went on to training in mathematics and architecture prior to music. His early music has its origins there, especially as his works accompanied intricate architectural constructions. Later, he completed a formal music degree under Messiaen at the Sorbonne. Born in Romania, he worked primarily in France and the United States. To some degree, it is the use of mathematical processes which allows Xenakis to discover patterns and communicable musical ideas out of a totally unrestricted musical vocabulary. The latter is an important aspect of Xenakis' work, and perhaps the main reason for its broad reception: He is not limited by instrumental combinations, by tempered scales, by scales at all or by simultaneity. Into such a sound world, even a stochastic process can inject some audible stability. In essence, traditional notions of musical structure are thrown out, only to be constructed anew, perhaps accounting for the raw creative energy the music possesses. There is an abundance of rhythmic energy, quickly changing harmonies, and usually a strongly visceral quality."

Weasel Walter overdubbed his "Music For Strings" including works from 1959 to 1996 on June 12, 2007. Hm, that's 10 days ago...

It's special - so get it here: Iannis Xenakis (feat. Weasel Walter) - Music for Strings (192 KBps)