PERFORMANCE ISSUES IN THE SOLO CELLO MUSIC OF IANNIS XENAKIS: A PERFORMER’S GUIDE TO NOMOS ALPHA AND KOTTOS

This study examines Iannis Xenakis’s two works for solo cello, Kottos and Nomos Alpha. It also discusses the composer’s untraditional background especially his lack of formal music education. The paper explores Xenakis’s compositional techniques that were drawn from extra-musical sources, especially his use of mathematic in music. A significant part of this study proposes practical guides for each piece as well as tentative solutions to the challenges posed by Xenakis’s use of extended techniques and to the many physically demanding passages. Chapter 2 discusses Kottos’s unusually traditional features, including the special link between Greek mythology and composition. Then, the paper examines how the composer applies mathematics in specific passages of the piece and suggests practical guide to technically difficult passages. In chapter 3, the paper explores the more detailed mathematical processes embedded in Nomos Alpha. In that work, Xenakis uses various kinds of extended techniques such as drastic scordatura, pizzicato on the opposite side of string, and near-unisons that create varying numbers of acoustic beats. This paper offers guidelines for each technique and suggests practice methods. Due to this project’s emphasis on performance details, this paper is presented as part of a double-lecture recital, presenting examples and full performances of each work.U of I OnlySchool of Music polic