Iannis Xenakis - Kottos

Kottos, for solo cello (1977)

Rohan de Saram

Iannis Xenakis has always had a special affinity for the cello. He wrote a major solo work for the instrument, Nomos Alpha, in 1966, but it has remained the exclusive territory of only a handful of courageous performers. When asked to contribute a test piece to the Rostropovitch International Violoncello Competition in 1977, Xenakis was happy to oblige, knowing that the score would be played by a number of cellists over the course of the competition and beyond. Accordingly, Kottos, while challenging, is approachable rather than utopian (in contrast to the earlier solo).

The title refers to the name for the hundred-armed titans that Zeus is said to have fought and conquered. Kottos has moments of fierceness, certainly, but contains much else besides. The opening launches the battle, so to speak, with a grating, grinding noise obtained by bowing strongly on the bridge of the instrument. It quickly shifts to a soft bird-like sound produced by the combination of harmonics and glissandi. As the music unfolds, a whole range of sonorities are introduced and developed, often shifting quickly from one to another.

The image of a being with one hundred arms, capable of many actions at once, appears to be what Xenakis was trying to portray. There are clear melodic passages, particularly toward the end, but rhythm is by far the most important element in the piece. In the middle, for example, a lengthy toccata-like passage ticks along with a rapid pulse. The music leaps over widely spaced sets of notes and lays down progressions of double stops that alternate between the open sounds of perfect intervals and the harsher tones of dissonances. The performer's major challenge is to overcome the work's technical difficulties to an extent that allows the music's exuberant energy, both aggressive and celebratory, to come through. [Allmusic.com]

Art by Ad Reinhardt

Category:

Music

Tags:

• xenakis
• saram
• cello
• kottos

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