Xenakis - Architect in Sound

I'm hoping that people coming to this blog who are interested in free music may also be interested in Xenakis - a freedom fighter exiled from his homeland, his musical language is unique; at once raw, austere and ashen, and at the same time complex, lyrical and honeyed. He found a similar inspiration and awakening in Paris as African-American musicians did almost 15 years later

A weekend festival, 'Xenakis, Architect of Sound' was held in October 2005 in London, and all of the concerts, bar one, were subsequently broadcast by Radio 3 in four programmes, details of which (and links) are available in the comments.

The programme included a wide range of Xenakis' compositions, ranging from piano (Hermas and Evryali), to the amazing pieces for string quartet (Tetras and Tetora), piano quintet (Akea), trios and duos (Ikhoor and Dikhthas), to orchestral pieces such as Shaar, and Eonta, an extraordinary piece for brass and piano. There are also pieces by Varese, Stravinsky, Morton Feldman and Messiaen. Some of the performances are very good - especially the Arditti Quartet, and Nicolas Hodges in Eonta. The broadcasts didn't follow the order of the concerts, but have some interesting commentary so I've left them as is. Here also are some links to reviews of the concerts;

http://tinyurl.com/2kqr2u
http://tinyurl.com/2vw6em