Eonta / Metastasis / Pithoprakta

"Iannis Xenakis, who died a few years ago, was an uncompromising modernist radical. A professionally-trained mathematician who based his music on research into probability theory and advanced computer modelling techniques, Xenakis developed a musical language that strikes many people as soul-less note spinning. I'm not exactly radically-inclined when it comes to XXth century music (I love and appreciate Hindemith and Rachmaninoff every bit as much as Schoenberg and Carter), but I find Xenakis fascinating! True, his music often sounds like pumped-up Varese, but I also find in it a rare and pure beauty of absolute sound production. This CD contains French analog recordings from the late 1960's that were, at that time, licensed to the Vanguard label for U.S. release. (They appeared, to great critical acclaim, on a Vanguard "Cardinal" Lp around about 1970.) On this beautifully presented French CD they sound even better now than they did back then: there is next to no discernible tape hiss from the Dolby/Analog source which presents a wide-open soundscape with razor-sharp clarity. The whole production makes the very best technological and musical case for Xenakis's strangely compelling sound world. Really good stuff, if you have adventurous ears!"
(Amazon.com)