| BLACK ANGEL Chatto & Windus, Random
House , UK |
The acclaimed biography
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A revealing contribution to the history of the post-war avant garde An intelligent book / The New Yorker An accessible biography, result of a long investigation which covers elements of the intimate aspects and techniques of the composer. The early life, architectural experience, musical career are exhaustively treated and clearly explained for the first time. An excellent introduction. / Le Monde Musical Opinion Authoritative / Choice Written only after Matossian tamed the savage inventor of stochastic music / Journal de Geneve ‘Xenakis’ is a work that has a truly wide range of appeal and would be an asset to any library’s collection on contemporary music. |
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| Iannis Xenakis, a political refugee under sentence of death from war-time Greece rose to become one of Le Corbusier’s chief collaborators and the pioneer of the computer age in digital music and arts. An outsider and radical thinker, he dealt a death blow to post-war serialism, introduced and invented revolutionary ideas in architecture and music based on natural principles, mathematics and philosophy. Shunned by his contemporaries, by the end of the 20th century he had outstripped them all and opened up new spaces for music of mass sounds and vast scale. His theories embracing the new computer science led the way to discoveries in methods of composing for traditional instruments as well as electronic music, architecture and light.
This book unlocks the mysteries of Xenakis’ architecture, composition and philosophy, simply, yet without compromise. This first and only biography of one of the foremost composers of our time, Xenakis has proved to be the primary reader and most important reference on this complex creator. Matossian, the distinguished biographer of the artist Arshile Gorky, charts Xenakis at the height of his creative powers as he harnesses new discoveries in composition and architecture; creates centres of automated and electronic music; writes about the theory of his method using chaos theory; attracts ever greater numbers of musicians to his prophetic view that with the computer, science and art would converge one day. This book is essential reading for understanding the basis of the digital arts and music revolution of our millenium through one of its leading pioneers. Generously illustrated with musical, architectural and personal photographs, sketches, scores as well as un unpublished interview and valuable appendices. |
Portrait of Hope: The Armenians by Huberta von Voss New Publication by Hans Schiler Verlag Berlin November 2004 saw the launch of a remarkable new book in Germany "Porträt einer Hoffnung: Die Armenier" by Huberta von Voss (Verlag Hans Schiler) "Portrait of a Hope: The Armenians," 413 pages, with black and white photos. It is a collection of portraits of Armenian personalities such as Charles Aznavour, Peter Balakian, Atom Egoyan and essays on history, art, music film, politics, historic places, written by a panel of authors such as Yehuda Bauer, Vahakn Dadrian, Taner Akcam, edited by Huberta von Voss. |
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| Review in The Observer 17 / 04 / 2005 Istanbul by Orhan Pamuk English Pen - 24th April 2005 Armenian Fauna Ethnically Cleansed or A 90 Year Old Debt Article in The Observer 27 / 02 / 2005 World View: They say 'incident'. To me it's genocide |
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"Black Angel is by Nouritza Matossian who was impelled by her identification
with Gorky as a fellow-Armenian. Matossian is ardent and often moving."
New Yorker, September 2003
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Listen
to an Armenian Interview of Nouritza |
| Black Angel - The book which inspired
Atom Egoyan's controversial movie Ararat "This extraordinary book
passionately lays bare the tortured soul of one of this century's great
artists, Arshile Gorky. Tracing his childhood in Van through to his
flight to America, Nouritza Matossian vividly explores the sources of
Gorky's unique genius. This stunning piece of work is emotionally charged,
and achieves a rare alchemy of scholarship, personal reflection and
historical testimony. |
Cannes Film Festival Official Selection 20th May 2002 World Premiere
 Egoyan, Matossian and Abkarian (Arshile Gorky) |
'A major biography . . . a love affair between biographer and subject revealed.'
-The Times.
