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2 reviews
9 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Very glad this is back in print
6 Jun 2010
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
I'm delighted that EMI has released these classic recordings of some of Xenakis's best-regarded instrumental works from the 1950s and 1960s. Akrata and Achorripsis are two of my favorite Xenakis pieces, and bizarre as it may seem, I have fond memories of having sex to Akrata on one occasion with another college student many years ago. Even if your associations are less visceral, I think it's clear that it's one of the most important 20th Century works for wind ensemble, along with Stravinsky's Symphonies of Wind Instruments, Varèse's Intégrales and Déserts, Messiaen's Et Exspecto... and several others. Speaking of Varèse, his influence can be heard in Akrata's repeated notes (not to mention the emphasis on dissonant intervals. Conversely, Akrata's influence can be heard in Ligeti's Ten Pieces for Wind Quintet.
The budget price is a plus. Drop a few bucks on this twofer and transport yourself back to a more exciting time in music history.
The budget price is a plus. Drop a few bucks on this twofer and transport yourself back to a more exciting time in music history.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Groovy Cover & All!: Essential Xenakis, Smells Like the '60s!!
7 April 2012
Format:Audio CD
I rolled my eyes at first when I saw this, seeing as what we really need is the holes in the discography to be filled rather than to get a set of stuff we've all heard on LP.
Or not!
When I finally broke down and got this mandatory recording (with such a cool presentation,... kudos to EMI for the community service), I was pleasantly surprised by works I hadn't heard before, including my favorite ST work, 'Atrees', which, at just under 20 minutes, is the longest early Xenakis work; it is also in five movements, but this does not diminish the particularly 'laid back' atmosphere: the computer program isn't as nervous in this piece as in, say, 'ST-10', also exclusive to this set.
'ST-10' (for ensemble with harp) and 'ST-4' (for string quartet) are the same music, 'ST-10' being the original. They make very interesting comparison. We are also given the final ST work 'Morisma-Amorisma', though it is not the same performance that is on Accord (do we now have 5-6 recordings of this piece?).
'Polla ta Dhina' is a short work for children's choir and ensemble which is very primal and exciting, sounding somewhat like his 'Medea', but very much also having the noise factor of 'Anaktoria'. A great little 'overture', exclusive to this set.
This first performance of 'Akrata' is... perhaps it's mean to say 'quaint', but it is quite good even though at this point the version by Tamayo on Timpani is fairly incomparable. It also isn't fair to compare the Quatuor Bernede to, say, the JACK or Arditti Quartets, in 'ST-4', but they really do just fine, and the vintage 'smell' is priceless! The performance of 'Nomos Alpha' by Pierre Penassou isn't as good as Palm's, but it can hold its own against some of the lesser performances such as Strauch. This performance of 'Herma' by Georges Pludermacher, however, is as essential as Yuji Takahashi's on Denon (is there an earlier recording by Takahashi, or is Pludermacher the premiere?). They both take the opening much differently than do both Helffer or Aki Takahashi (Helffer may now be my least favorite; Ms. Takahashi is transcendental as usual).
The recording of 'Achorripsis' is the same as on the Editions RZ set, but, otherwise, it is an essential piece that completes the first trilogy of works. It is quite a strangle little short piece that ends up sounding like a carnival machine gone wild. Its structure is of 25 increments of the same length, so it's easy to count along as hear the stochastic changes which he calculated by hand.
In all, this is almost the new go-to set. I love the vintage recording sound, and the performances are all precious. This set, along with the old Chant du Monde cd, and the Editions RZ set, represent almost all of early Xenakis up to 1972 (include the EMF cd of electronic works too). There is also a recording of 'Strategie', but, no 'Duel'. And, of course, the wonderful Hyperion disc of vocal works rounds out the Collection.
HIGHEST RECOMMENDATION
Or not!
When I finally broke down and got this mandatory recording (with such a cool presentation,... kudos to EMI for the community service), I was pleasantly surprised by works I hadn't heard before, including my favorite ST work, 'Atrees', which, at just under 20 minutes, is the longest early Xenakis work; it is also in five movements, but this does not diminish the particularly 'laid back' atmosphere: the computer program isn't as nervous in this piece as in, say, 'ST-10', also exclusive to this set.
'ST-10' (for ensemble with harp) and 'ST-4' (for string quartet) are the same music, 'ST-10' being the original. They make very interesting comparison. We are also given the final ST work 'Morisma-Amorisma', though it is not the same performance that is on Accord (do we now have 5-6 recordings of this piece?).
'Polla ta Dhina' is a short work for children's choir and ensemble which is very primal and exciting, sounding somewhat like his 'Medea', but very much also having the noise factor of 'Anaktoria'. A great little 'overture', exclusive to this set.
This first performance of 'Akrata' is... perhaps it's mean to say 'quaint', but it is quite good even though at this point the version by Tamayo on Timpani is fairly incomparable. It also isn't fair to compare the Quatuor Bernede to, say, the JACK or Arditti Quartets, in 'ST-4', but they really do just fine, and the vintage 'smell' is priceless! The performance of 'Nomos Alpha' by Pierre Penassou isn't as good as Palm's, but it can hold its own against some of the lesser performances such as Strauch. This performance of 'Herma' by Georges Pludermacher, however, is as essential as Yuji Takahashi's on Denon (is there an earlier recording by Takahashi, or is Pludermacher the premiere?). They both take the opening much differently than do both Helffer or Aki Takahashi (Helffer may now be my least favorite; Ms. Takahashi is transcendental as usual).
The recording of 'Achorripsis' is the same as on the Editions RZ set, but, otherwise, it is an essential piece that completes the first trilogy of works. It is quite a strangle little short piece that ends up sounding like a carnival machine gone wild. Its structure is of 25 increments of the same length, so it's easy to count along as hear the stochastic changes which he calculated by hand.
In all, this is almost the new go-to set. I love the vintage recording sound, and the performances are all precious. This set, along with the old Chant du Monde cd, and the Editions RZ set, represent almost all of early Xenakis up to 1972 (include the EMF cd of electronic works too). There is also a recording of 'Strategie', but, no 'Duel'. And, of course, the wonderful Hyperion disc of vocal works rounds out the Collection.
HIGHEST RECOMMENDATION
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