Scores and Structures

Fractured rhythms, staccato notes and pulsating dissonant chords - composer Iannis Xenakis’s breathtaking compositions aren’t quite the sort you can hum, but are nevertheless considered among the most important of the 20th century. A multifaceted talent, Xenakis trained as an architect in his youth, working with Le Corbusier in the 50s while studying music in his spare time with visionary composer Olivier Messiaen. Soon garnering attention for his complex, mathematically inspired compositions, he went on to develop some of the earliest computer-assisted music, even developing his own software to read his complex and beautiful visual scores. A selection of his scores and architectural sketches will be exhibited at The Drawing Center in New York from tomorrow.