The Centre de Création Musicale Iannis Xenakis is simply the latest expression of the research in the field of computer music promoted by Iannis Xenakis during a period of forty years. In fact, it is not easy to reconstruct the path of the foundation and creation of informal groups, institutions and associations to which the greek composer gave life, always with the aim to promote the learning and experimentation around digital technologies for the music. Here I want to summarize the different steps:
1966, foundation of the Equipe de Mathématique et Automatique Musicales
1967, foundation of the Center for Mathematical and Automated Music
1972, foundation of the Centre d’Études de Mathématique et Automatique Musicales
1985, foundation of the Les Ateliers Upic
2000, foundation of the Centre de Création Musicale Iannis Xenakis (CCMIX)
Ultimately, the CCMIX in Paris gathers all the legacy left by his predecessors, including the last in order of time is the Ateleries UPIC. Although I have shown the different steps, you must remember that all these experiences have accounted for the greek composer a way to promote research that can achieve both goals in the development of new technological tools, both to encourage the composition and distribution of contemporary music. This latter point is evident from the list of composers who have attended the various centers over nearly five decades (to date, 2014): Iannis Xenakis, Eliane Radigue, Bernard Parmegiani, Jean-Claude Eloy, Luc Ferrari, Paul Méfano, Alain Bancquart, Pierre Bernard, François-Bernard Mâche, Julio Estrada, Eric Tanguy, Tristan Murail, Michaël Lévinas, Luigi Abbate, Francis Bayer, Joji Yuassa, Giancarlo Schiaffini, Randall Neal, Enrico Cocco, Gerard Pape, Richard Barrett, Cort Lippe, Jean-Claude Risset, Curtis Roads, Brigitte Robindoré, Yuji Takahashi, Jorge Antunes, Kurt Carpenter, Takehito Shimazo, Carlos Grätzer, Roger Reynolds, Horacio Vaggione, Nicola Cisternino, Hans Mittendorf, Stefano Scodanibbio, Karlheinz Stockhausen, La Monte Young, and many more. In recent years, access to CCMIX is via a residence on the invitation.
In 2001 was published a collection of works created with the UPIC system at CCMIX in Paris.
The first goal, however, in recent years has taken shape in the draft IanniX, a graphical sequencer, free and open source, that reflects the heritage and strives to the UPIC graphics approaches which often Xenakis used for the composition of his works, for example Metastaseis (1953-54).
As regards the availability of technology, always to now, the center is equipped with the system UPIC, Stochos, Cloud Generator of Curtis Roads, the system KYMA and Max/Msp. There are also important collaborations with Trevor Wishart, who developed the Composer’s Desktop Project.