Synaphaï


Synaphaï is a composition for piano and orchestra by Greek composer Iannis Xenakis. It was finished in 1969 and premiered in 1971.

Composition

Synaphaï was initially commissioned by Hofstra University on New York's Long Island for the conductor Eleazar de Carvalho and the pianist Jocy de Oliveira. It was finished in 1969 and premiered at the 1971 Royan Festival, of which he was a regular composer, during the festival's Xenakis Day, in which ten of Xenakis's most important works were performed. The piece was performed by Georges Pludermacher at the piano and the Orchestre Philharmonique de l'ORTF with Michel Tabachnik. The piece was later published by Éditions Salabert in May 1981.

Structure

Synaphaï consists of only one movement and takes approximately 12–16 minutes to perform. It has largely been categorized as a piano concerto, because of the solo piano's prominent part and its cadenza. It is scored for a solo piano and a large orchestra of 86 musicians, consisting of:
As well as a large percussion section and a large string section. The orchestra is set vertically on stage towards the audience. The instruments are put into four groups: alpha, beta, gamma, and delta. That way, the instruments are separated into almost even groups, as expressed in the score.
The composition style rejects the idea of a dialogue between the solo piano and the orchestra, but rather promotes a conjunction between these two elements, hence the title of the piece. Xenakis considers the compositional style used in the piece as a continuation of his own Eonta, which eventually culminated in Evryali and Erikhthon. The piano part is of extreme difficulty and is written on ten staves, one for each of the pianist's fingers.

Reception

The piece was highly successful in the première and immediately encored. Jacques Lonchampt, from Le Monde, wrote that Synaphaï has "a torrential score, tossing in a kind of perpetual tremolo on top of which break through frenzied rhythmic sequences, but also a whole agitation, shuddering and truly musical". Musicologist Henry-Louis de La Grange said of the piece: "Set against a flamboyant orchestral tapestry, occasionally pierced by harsh cries from the brass, the highly elaborate piano part stands out in high relief, with a tremendous, rhythmic drive".

Recordings