Xenakis Creates in Architecture and Music

Xenakis Creates in Architecture and Music describes the collaborative interaction of internationally acclaimed composer Roger Reynolds, musician Karen Reynolds, and musically inspired composer, engineer, and architect Iannis Xenakis (1922-2001) to create a house design, The Reynolds Desert House. The process combined aesthetics and intuition with mathematical systems, showcasing how art and science are balanced-by way of music and architecture-to address the essential technical aspects of music along with the role of emotion and energy. The book analyzes three representative chamber works and presents a trove of primary sources: letters, diaries, notes, photographs, sketches, and person-to-person conversations. What emerges are patterns of direct parallels between how Xenakis characterized the process of musical creation and his design of The Reynolds Desert House. Xenakis Creates in Architecture and Music is a testament to the singularly innovative and creative mind of Iannis Xenakis. Supplementary materials-including color reproductions of black and white images in the book-can be found at: www.rogerreynolds.com/xenakisreynoldsroutledge.html

Roger Reynolds is University Professor Emeritus in the Department of Music at the University of California, San Diego. He was awarded the 1989 Pulitzer Prize for Music for his composition for string orchestra, "Whispers Out of Time." Karen Reynolds is a committed musician and arts activist. She has served as a performing flutist, a co-organizer of festivals in the US and abroad, and as a graphic designer.

1. Chronicle of a Friendship / 2. Beginnings: Considering Elements in Xenakis's Early Sketches / 3. Foundations / 4. Using Space / 5. Illumination / 6. Precedents / 7. Some Closer Looks / 8. Creation: A Personal Assessment