Xenakis

British

/ ksɛˈnakis, zɛˈnɑːkɪs /

noun

Yannis (ˈjanis). 1922–2001, Greek composer and musical theorist, born in Romania: later a French citizen. He was noted for his use of computers in composition: his works include ST/10-1, 080262 (1962) and Dox-orkh (1991)

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

This is no longer the uptight atmosphere where John Adams was angrily booed and where people noisily walked out as Zubin Mehta premiered major new works by Olivier Messiaen and Iannis Xenakis.

From Los Angeles Times • May 29, 2025

“I would have challenged it,” Xenakis said in an interview, referring to DeSantis’s advice about force-feeding.

From Washington Post • Mar. 19, 2023

Gen. Stephen Xenakis, the former head of the Southeast Army Medical Command, who at the time was affiliated with Physicians for Human Rights, said he advised detainee lawyers about challenging the practice.

From Washington Post • Mar. 19, 2023

The premiere of “Metastaseis,” in 1955 in Germany put Xenakis in the company of the era’s respected composers.

From New York Times • Sep. 22, 2022

“That perspective has been one of the big game-changers Xenakis realized in Western art music.”

From New York Times • Sep. 22, 2022

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023