à r. (Xenakis)
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à r.,[a] which usually includes the affix (Hommage à Ravel) (French for Homage to Ravel) for clarity, is a short composition for piano by Greek/French composer Iannis Xenakis. Composed in 1987, it is the last composition for solo piano by the composer.
Background
[edit]The piece was composed in 1987 and premiered that same year, at the Festival International de Radio France, in Montpellier, France, on August 2, by pianist Håkon Austbø.[1][2] Its title, à r., is a reference to "à Ravel", as the festival where it premiered marked the 50th anniversary of Ravel's death.[3] The piece was published by Éditions Salabert in 1989.[1]
Structure
[edit]This short piece has a total duration of three minutes and is scored for solo piano. Only lasting for 21 bars, it features a characteristically slow tempo marking of 
≃ 46 MM, implying that the tempo does not have to match the metronome marking exactly, but it has to approximate that tempo. As was usual in Xenakis, despite the slow tempo, long thirty-second note tuplet and sixty-fourth note passages are frequent, with sharp dynamic changes and isolated quarter notes and half notes
Recordings
[edit]Notes
[edit]- ^ Because of the unusual nature of the title, many alternate spellings are used by record labels, musicologists, and publishers alike. Some of these alternate spellings include À r., À R., à R., A.R., A r., A R., and a R..
References
[edit]- ^ a b "À r. (Hommage à Ravel) – Iannis Xenakis". Retrieved 2024-11-18.
- ^ "à r. (Hommage à Ravel), Iannis Xenakis". brahms.ircam.fr. Retrieved 2024-11-18.
- ^ Squibbs, Ronald (2003). "Xenakis in Miniature: Style and Structure in "à r. (Hommage à Ravel)" for Piano (1987)". Perspectives of New Music. 41 (1): 120–153. ISSN 0031-6016.