Iannis Xenakis, born 1922 in Braila, Romania; died 2001 in Paris. Studied engineering at the National Technical University of Athens, emigrated to Paris in 1947. Studied composition there with Darius Milhaud, Arthur Honegger, Hermann Scherchen and Olivier Messiaen. Assistant to the architect Le Corbusier in Paris, 1948–60. Founder of the Centre d’Etudes de Mathématique et Automatique Musicales in Paris and the Center for Mathematical and Automated Music at Indiana University. Taught at the University of Paris. Honors have included the Kyoto Prize (1997) and the Polar Music Prize (1999).