Iannis Xenakis - Phlegra, Jalons, Kern, Nomos Alpha, Thalleïn (rec. 1990/1, rel. 1992)

A great Xenakis disc from the early 90s, focusing on recent commissions taken on by the composer at a time when his music wasn't quite as earth-shattering as it had been earlier on, but could still bend 20th century classical music into extraordinary shapes.  The first piece here is one of the older two on the collection, Phlegra for chamber orchestra (1976), with plenty of ominous drones and great abraisive writing that was Xenakis' envisioning of "a battleground between the Titans and the new gods of Mount Olympus".  Following that is the slippery, trippy drift and skronk of Jalons for orchestra (1986), dedicated to Pierre Boulez, who conducts here.

Two solo pieces are up next.  Keren (1986), Hebrew for 'horn', was written for trombonist Benny Sluchin, who performs it here, taking the instrument from mellifluous solemnity to almost jazzy sounds, low drones and everywhere in between in under seven minutes.  The oldest piece on the collection, Nomos Alpha (1965) was originally written for the great cellist Siegfied Palm, and is briskly performed (about three minutes shorter than the original, IIRC) by Pierre Strauch.  For the geometrists out there, it's based on the "24-element octahedral group isomorphic to the rotations of a cube"; for anyone who just likes hearing a cello sound like it's being played by a virtuoso octopus, it's a blast.  We end with another chamber piece, Thallein (1984), for fourteen instruments including piano and percussion, written in complex polyphonic layers that still sound like music from the future.

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Previously posted at SGTG:
Oresteïa
Synaphaï
Persephassa
Ata, Jonchaies etc
Pléiades/Psappha
Bohor etc
Kraanerg
Terretektorh/Nomos Gamma
La Légende D'Eer
Persepolis