Synergy’s committed, energised performances result in a 1-0 win for Xenakis.

Carriageworks, Sydney

April 22-23, 2014

Before Reich, before Glass, there was Iannis Xenakis – a Greek composer of great originality whose career saw him constantly questing for the refinement of his sonic art, coupled with an ongoing exploration of his theories of music and mathematics. Not that the harmonically complex Xenakis would have appreciated the comparison – his music only bears a superficial resemblance to the minimalists (cellular development, a tendency to repetition and gradual change). What he does share, though, with the likes of Steve Reich, is an ability to be embraced and appreciated by many outside of the classical mainstream. There’s something about his sound world that gets a hold on you and fascinates, especially in live performance.

In 2011 Synergy decided to take up the challenge of Pléïades, Xenakis’ 50-minute four- movement work for six percussionists, and one of the most remarkable works of the 20th century. Like the work’s dedicatees (Les Percussions de Strasbourg) before them, Synergy had to build their own set of sixxens (the word comes from ‘six’, for the six musicians, and ‘xen’, for Xenakis) – instruments consisting of nineteen metal bars, tuned...