MANA QUARTET | XAS for saxophone quartet (1987) - IANNIS XENAKIS | Spectrum NYC (LIVE)

The MANA Quartet performs XAS by Iannis Xenakis in concert at Spectrum in New York City on January 18, 2015.

The MANA Quartet (2015)
Michael Hernandez - soprano
Thomas Giles - alto
Eric Barreto-Maymi - tenor
Dannel Espinoza - baritone


Xenakis composed his masterwork XAS for the Rascher Saxophone Quartet in 1987.
“It is one of the pieces from my last cycle of compositions in which - as I see it - I combine a less formal freedom with theoretical concepts or structures that I have long upheld.” - Iannis Xenakis

“I met lannis Xenakis in Paris in 1982 after a lengthy telephone conversation with Olivier Messiaen, who suggested that Xenakis would be interested in what I had to offer.
With an introduction by such an esteemed colleague, I had an appointment with lannis Xenakis the very next morning. I played for him, explained the difference in the original and "modern" saxophones in great acoustical detail, and was intrigued by the depth of his questions. He immediately wrote down a few ideas and asked whether they are playable. When I hesitated about one of them (an extremely complicated line with microtones and great leaps at high speed), he smiled and said, "I think it is playable. Maybe you have to practice a lot?" I asked whether he could imagine writing a saxophone quartet "to help us expand our horizons". He was very interested and promised to think about it. Just as I was about to leave, the doorbell rang and Mr. Xenakis let in his next visitor: Edison Denisov. Mr. Xenakis introduced me as a
"saxophoniste extraordinaire", and Mr. Denisov replied, "I know the saxophone very well!" lannis Xenakis smiled and said, "You have never heard a saxophone played this way". There were other visits in Paris and elsewhere, including with his lovely wife, Francoise, as well as lengthy exchanges with Mr. Xenakis about numerous technical details. lannis Xenakis and I became friends despite the great difference in our ages and experience, as we shared a keen interest in history. I learned a great deal from him and treasure his memory. It was an impressive work that, indeed, greatly expanded the horizons of the quartet and all of its players.” - John Edward Kelly, 2013


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