Kassandra
Spotlight on Iannis Xenakis
Iannis Xenakis has often been called »a Greek living in the wrong millennium« because he regularly refers to Greek mythology and the thinkers of classical antiquity. In the chamber music concert of this year’s composer spotlight with three experienced soloists, evidence of this is supplied, for example, by the work »Kassandra«, named after the tragic heroine who always foresaw disasters, but whose predictions were ignored. At the same time, the concert makes a trip into the multifarious world of percussion.
The percussion section comes together in the piece »Komboï« with an (amplified) harpsichord, and together the instruments develop a fascinating range of sound where it’s no longer clear which one is playing. They seem to be knotted together, which also explains the title.
The two works are framed by Xenakis’s only two compositions for solo percussion: »Rebonds« and »Psappha«. The former, with its constant transformation of rhythmic figures, is one of the composer’s best-known and most frequently performed works, while »Psappha« again refers to ancient Greek history – in this case to the poetess Sappho, the most important lyric poetess of antiquity, in whose texts erotic love mostly plays an important role.
With the Greek artist Alexandros Giovanos, one of the leading percussionists in the field of contemporary music travels to Hamburg.
Performers
Alexandros Giovanos percussion
Martin Gerke baritone, psaltery
Ermis Theodorakis harpsichord
Programme
Iannis Xenakis
Rebonds für Schlagwerk solo
Komboï Komboï für Cembalo und Schlagzeug
– Interval –
Iannis Xenakis
Kassandra für Bariton, Psalter und Schlagwerk
Psappha
Spotlight
Iannis Xenakis