Editing Iannis Xenakis (section)

=== 1922–47: early years ===
Giannis Klearchou Xenakis was born in [[Brăila]], [[Kingdom of Romania|Romania]]—which at the time had a large [[Greeks in Romania|Greek community]], as the eldest son of Greek parents; Klearchos Xenakis, a businessman from [[Euboea]] who was managing director of an English export-import agency and one of the richest men in the city, and Fotini Pavlou from [[Lemnos]], a pianist who also spoke German and French.<ref name=":0" /> His two younger brothers were [[Jason Xenakis|Jason]], who became a philosophy professor in the United States and Greece, and {{ill|Κοσμάς Ξενάκης|el|lt=Kosmas}}, an architect, urban planner and artist.

His parents were both interested in music, and it was Pavlou who encouraged the young child to learn more about it: the young Giannis was given a flute by his mother, and the family visited the [[Bayreuth Festival]] several times, due to his father's interest in opera. Her early death in 1927, when Xenakis was five years old, was a traumatic experience that, in his own words, "deeply scarred" the future composer. She had previously been infected from [[measles]] and died after giving birth to a stillborn daughter.<ref>[[#Matossian|Matossian]], 13.</ref>

He was subsequently educated by a series of English, French, and German [[governess]]es, and then, in 1932, sent to Greece to study at the Anargyrio-Korgialenio [[boarding school]] on the Aegean island of [[Spetses]].<ref name=":0" /> He excelled in both academics and athletics and sang in the school's boys' choir, where the repertoire included works by [[Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina|Palestrina]], and [[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart|Mozart]]'s ''[[Requiem (Mozart)|Requiem]]'', which Xenakis memorized in its entirety.<ref name="Varga, 14">[[#Varga|Varga]], p. 14.</ref>

It was also at the Spetses school that Xenakis studied [[Musical notation|notation]] and [[solfège]], being introduced to the music of [[Ludwig van Beethoven]] and [[Johannes Brahms]] and became enamoured of Greek traditional and church music.<ref name="Varga, 14"/> At the same time, he discovered the writer [[Homer]] and had a habit of visiting museums.

In 1938, after graduating from the school, Xenakis moved to [[Athens]] to prepare for entrance exams at its [[National Technical University of Athens|National Technical University]], also studying [[Ancient Greek]]. He was encouraged by his friends and family to do so due to his interests in physics and mathematics. Although he intended to study architecture and engineering, he also took lessons in [[harmony]] and [[counterpoint]] with [[Aristotelis Koundouroff]].<ref>[[#Matossian|Matossian]], 14–17.</ref> In 1940, he successfully passed the exams, but his studies were cut short by the [[Greco-Italian War]], which began with the Italian invasion on 28 October 1940. Although Greece eventually won the war, it was not long before the German army joined the Italians in the [[Battle of Greece]], in April 1941.

This led to the [[Axis occupation of Greece during World War II]], which lasted until late 1944, when the Allies began their drive across Europe, forcing the Axis forces to withdraw. Xenakis joined the [[National Liberation Front (Greece)|National Liberation Front]] early during the war, participating in mass protests and demonstrations, and later becoming part of armed resistance — this last step was a painful experience Xenakis refused to discuss until much later in life.<ref>[[#Matossian|Matossian]], pp. 18–27.</ref><ref>[[#Varga|Varga]], pp. 14–19.</ref>

After the Axis forces left, Churchill ordered that British forces step in to help restore the Greek monarchy; they were opposed by the [[Democratic Army of Greece]], and the country plunged into a [[Greek Civil War|civil war]]. In December 1944, during the period of [[Winston Churchill|Churchill]]'s [[martial law]],{{sfn|Gilbert|1966|p=56}} Xenakis (who was by then a member of the communist students' company of the left-wing ''Lord Byron'' faction of [[Greek People's Liberation Army|ELAS]]) became involved in street fighting against British tanks. He was wounded and facially disfigured when shrapnel from a tank blast hit his cheek and left eye, which was blinded;<ref name="service">{{cite news |last=Service |first=Tom |date=23 April 2013 |title=A guide to Iannis Xenakis's music |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/tomserviceblog/2013/apr/23/contemporary-music-guide-xenakis |work=[[The Guardian]] |location=London |access-date=23 May 2020}}</ref> the fact that Xenakis survived the injury has been described as a miracle.<ref>[[Iannis Xenakis#Harley|Harley]], [https://books.google.com/books?id=hHXqbJGEM4EC&pg=PA2 2].</ref><ref>Barthel-Calvet, Anne-Sylvie. (2002). "Chronologie". In ''Portrait(s) de Iannis Xenakis'', edited by François-Bernard Mâche, pp. 25–82. Paris: Bibliothèque Nationale de France. {{ISBN|2-7177-2178-9}}.</ref>

The Technical University operated intermittently during these years. Despite this, and Xenakis's other activities, he was able to graduate in 1947, with a degree in civil engineering.<ref>Baltensperger, André. (1995). ''Iannis Xenakis und die Stochastische Musik – Komposition im Spannungsfeld von Architektur und Mathematik''. Zürich. Paul Haupt. p. 72.</ref>

Xenakis was then conscripted into the national armed forces. Around 1947 the Greek government began arresting former resistance members that were left-wing oriented and sending them to prison. Xenakis, fearing for his life, went into hiding. With the help of his father and others, he fled Greece through [[Italy]] by using a fake [[passport]]. On 11 November 1947 he arrived in Paris. In a late interview, Xenakis admitted to feeling tremendous guilt at leaving his country, and that guilt was one of the sources of his later devotion to music:
<blockquote>For years I was tormented by guilt at having left the country for which I'd fought. I left my friends—some were in prison, others were dead, some managed to escape. I felt I was in debt to them and that I had to repay that debt. And I felt I had a mission. I had to do something important to regain the right to live. It wasn't just a question of music—it was something much more significant.<ref>[[#Varga|Varga]], p. 47.</ref></blockquote>
In the meantime, in Greece he was sentenced [[trial in absentia|in absentia]] to death by the right-wing administration. The sentence was commuted to ten years' imprisonment in 1951, and only lifted some 23 years later, after the fall of the [[Greek junta]] in 1974. He later returned the same year.<ref>[[Iannis Xenakis#Harley|Harley]], p.[https://books.google.com/books?id=hHXqbJGEM4EC&pg=PA92 92].</ref>