Friday 3 April 2009
Christ Church Cathedral (Georgia and Burrard); 8pm
Tickets $30/$20 (students/seniors); available from Sikora's Classical Records (432 W. Hastings), Tickets Tonight, (604.684.2787 or www.ticketstonight.ca) and the door.

Kraanerg: from the Greek kraan, to perfect; and erg, energy.

Commissioned for the gala opening of the National Arts Centre in Ottawa, Canada in 1968, Kraanerg is a visceral and highly charged piece for woodwinds, brass, strings and quadrophonic tape, originally composed as the score to a ballet choreographed by Roland Petit with "op-art" sets by Victor Vasarely.

According to Xenakis' program notes, the title also referred to the "current youth movements" that were making significant marks on social history in 1968, as well as to his utopian vision of the upcoming "biological struggle between generations unfurling all over the planet, destroying existing political, social, urban, scientific, artistic and ideological frameworks on a scale never before attempted by humanity." This powerful statement can be felt in the music.

“A wonderful piece of music, enthralling, and one that grips the mind and the heart...(it) is one of the major ballet scores of the century." - Clive Barnes, NY Times

This presentation will feature a newly mastered tape part, restored from the original by Mode records, as well as some of Vancouver’s finest musicians, including: Ari Barnes, Jeremy Berkman, David Brown, Marie-Julie Chagnon, Steve Denroche, Mike Dowler, Mark Ferris, Karen Gebrecht, Domagoj Ivanovic, Les Kasprzak, Ben Kinsman, Peggy Lee, Jim Littleford, Mark McGregor, David Owen, Isabel Roland, Tom Shorthouse, Mary Sokol Brown, Marcus Takizawa, Jim Tranquilla, Rebecca Whitling and Yi Zhou; conducted by Giorgio Magnanensi. The presentation will also feature live projections and video manipulations of original footage of the May 1968 Paris riots curated by David Murphy and Giorgio Magnanensi.

There will be a free after-show chat with composer James Harley, author of Xenakis: His Life in Music.