Abstracts of issue 5-6 (1987)

Gerasimos Solomos Giorgos Faraklas

Iannis Xenakis. A Contradictory Synthesis of Oppositions

The analysis of the musical and the musico-theoretical production of I. Xenakis leads to the following paradox: though deeply systematical, his work abounds in exacerbated contradictions.
It is possible to reconstruct Xenakis system. This system is based on a game of oppositions, which can be grouped in two categories: the alloy art science; the axiomatization of musical universalism and specific musical creation. These oppositions, in continuous evolution, finally lead to contradictions, i.e. oppositions that the system can no longer manage.
By searching the deep reasons for this attempt to systematize despite unavoidable contradictions, one discovers the major quality of Xenakis work: character of utopia, its character of Knowledge.

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