Xenakis- Evryali (1973)

Iannis Xenakis' solo piano work, Evryali. Unfortunately my friend Formalized has removed his videos, so I'm re-uploading some of his stuff that I thought was particularly worthy. Anyway, this is probably the best recording of this piece you'll find, although... I don't remember which one this is ^_^;;; I think it's Yuji's? Not Aki's, not Helffner's... If someone could remind me and let me look slightly less stupid it would be really appreciated.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Xenakis
• Evryali
• Piano

[Athenesword]

Why would somebody write a composition that includes notes that don't even exist, and make it all but impossible to play every single note in the score? It's a mess. And I'm not coming from the perspective of somebody that hates classical music. Some of it I like (and some quite a bit) some I don't.

Is there any possibility this composition was meant for some instrument other than piano and he tried to transpose it? Perhaps he was unable to complete the transition?

Violin, harp maybe? Ideas?

[John11inch]

There are no notes notated (fun alliteration) in this score that are not on the piano; there are simply intervals too large for anyone without freakish hands. They are typically arpeggiated, or in the case of a couple performers, certain pitches in these sections are transposed or simply ignored.

[charmand79]

I understand this is a very difficult piece to play on a technical basis and the pianist has done a great job..

But why is this called music?? It is just an arbitrary sequence of notes.. Ye ye, ok thats avant garde but it should not be regarded as "music". In the same way as a transparent glass pot filled with sand is not art (influenced by an "art" exhibition i recently had the "pleasure" to watch)

[John11inch]

Define music.

[Medsas]

why should physical limitations stand in the way of creativity?

[V0idslime]

I figured out the first 5 notes! huzzah!

[wetuadjlv]

Wow, this really is a great performance of Ervyali! My new favorite. I hope I get to play this someday.

[aslanbc]

@Hero0fSilence You can not name one piece of music that does not fall under the description of: Organized Sound. Organized by whom? The composer. How? Any way he/she feels. The composer can decide what objects they want to produce the desired sounds, whether the sounds will be created acoustically or electronically synthesized... The composers can decide how accurately they want to organize parameters such as pitch, loudness, timbre, duration, texture, etc.

[aslanbc]

@Hero0fSilence That is silly; if a cat knocks over a glass and smashes it, there is no individual who consciously organized the sounds that resulted from that event.

[dkolokol]

@Athenesword

>> Why would somebody write a composition that includes notes that don't even exist, and make it all but impossible to play every single note in the score? why not?

>> It's a mess. u call it this way, i call visionary ))

[RestlessWicked]

@Hero0fSilence

Take the "industrial" music genre. Those artists quite often use "noise" from industrial machinery (hence the name), the rattling of a train on the tracks or the sound of heartbeat or whatever typically unpleasant (or amusical) sounds and manage to find the harmony and music hidden inside the noise. (Ministry and Cabaret Voltaire for example) In other words: take the cat's cup and the falling spoons'n'forks and you have the basicsfor a song, if mixed properly. (title: cat-spork)

[Hero0fSilence]

@charmand79 The glass pot can be a metaphor. That can be art. If you were more sensitive you would have discerned something, or projected an analogy. Art evocates only if you can interpret it. Dont interpret all the visual arts in function of the classic sculptor's taste for beauty or meaning. And dont listen to xenakis as if there should be a ritornello or a diatonic harmony.

[Hero0fSilence]

@aslanbc Thats vague. Organized in which way? By who? The sound of spoons and forks falling is a series of sounds organized by gravity. They wont sound randomly, only as gravity can place the objects. Wouldnt that mean that every sound is organized? What about, Music is sound organized with the purpose of listening? That way we are exemt of calling cats musicians for accidentally breaking cups.

[v3nge]

This sounds more like Avant Garde than classical.

[aslanbc]

@John11inch Music is organized sound.