Xi/Perspectives: sound artist Francisco Lopez

Whit Bernard — Tue, 19 May 2009 20:14:48 +0000

Francisco Lopez, a giant in sound art and ambient music, is far from a typical Xenakis protege. His soundscapes evolve slowly and patiently, and he is as allergic to rhythm as he is to any other delimiter of musical time. But that didn’t stop him from creating a fascinating remix of one of Xenakis’ most controversial pieces – Persepolis – for a recent project produced by Asphodel records. Persepolis was commissioned by the Shah of Iran in 1971 for the 2500th anniversary of its namesake, an Ancient Greek city in modern-day Iranian territory. Unreal, right? While his academic counterparts wrote diligently for universities, orchestras, and art collectors, Xenakis took his craft to an idealistic, anti-western, neo-totalitarian pariah-state and went to town. More on that in a few days…

We interviewed Francisco and asked him about why he thought Xenakis had such appeal in the noise, metal, and ambient communities. Listen here to his illuminating response.

Xenakis is the new Black

Whit Bernard — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 17:58:58 +0000

Check out this eloquent preview of ICE’s upcoming concert with Steve Schick at Boston’s Isabel Stewart Gardner Museum. From Keith Powers, classical music critic for the Boston Herald:
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Boston Herald original link
March 20, 2009

With high-octane superstars like Renee Fleming, Peter Serkin and Murray Perahia coming to town this spring, Boston’s classical scene promises to please. But amid the star power, one event stands out: a long-overdue tribute to courageous composer Iannis Xenakis.

Name another composer who would take a commission from a ruthless dictator (the shah of Iran) and then go on to write a work dedicated to the man’s political prisoners. Who else would design a World’s Fair building by first writing a score? Xenakis moved easily from physics to game theory to architecture to computer music, but the 20th century was slow to recognize his influence or output. Next month’s concert, featuring the International Contemporary Ensemble as part of the Isabella Stewart Gardner’s Composer Portraits series, should start rectifying his neglect (April 16 at the Gardner Museum; $5-$23; 617-278-5156).

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For tickets and more information, visit the Gardner Museum’s website.

ICE/Xenakis » shah

Xi/Perspectives: sound artist Francisco Lopez

Xenakis is the new Black