This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1987.

This is a list of musical compositions for violin and orchestra. See entries for concerto and violin concerto for a description of related musical forms.

Robert Lemay (born February 13, 1960) is a Canadian composer of solo, chamber and orchestral works.

This article presents a complete list of compositions by Greek composer Iannis Xenakis (1922-2001), organized by instrumentation. Within each category, the works are arranged chronologically by year of composition.

This is a list of compositions for piano and orchestra. For a description of related musical forms, see Concerto and Piano concerto.

à r., which usually includes the affix (Hommage à Ravel) (French for Homage to Ravel) for clarity, is a short composition for piano by Greek/French composer Iannis Xenakis. Composed in 1987, it is the last composition for solo piano by the composer.

Keqrops (Greek: Κέκροψ, also incorrectly entitled by the composer Κεqροψ, which can be translated as weaving) is a composition for piano and orchestra by Greek/French composer Iannis Xenakis. Due to the prominent role of the piano soloist, it has often been classified as a piano concerto. It was completed in 1986.

An electronic musical instrument or electrophone is a musical instrument that produces sound using electronic circuitry. Such an instrument sounds by outputting an electrical, electronic or digital audio signal that ultimately is plugged into a power amplifier which drives a loudspeaker, creating the sound heard by the performer and listener. An electronic instrument might include a user interface for controlling its sound, often by adjusting the pitch, frequency, or duration of each note. A common user interface is the musical keyboard, which functions similarly to the keyboard on an acoustic piano where the keys are each linked mechanically to swinging string hammers - whereas with an electronic keyboard, the keyboard interface is linked to a synth module, computer or other electronic or digital sound generator, which then creates a sound. However, it is increasingly common to separate user interface and sound-generating functions into a music controller (input device) and a music synthesizer, respectively, with the two devices communicating through a musical performance description language such as MIDI or Open Sound Control. The solid state nature of electronic keyboards also offers differing feel and response, offering a novel experience in playing relative to operating a mechanically linked piano keyboard. All electronic musical instruments can be viewed as a subset of audio signal processing applications. Simple electronic musical instruments are sometimes called sound effects; the border between sound effects and actual musical instruments is often unclear. In the 21st century, electronic musical instruments are now widely used in most styles of music. In popular music styles such as electronic dance music, almost all of the instrument sounds used in recordings are electronic instruments (e.g., bass synth, synthesizer, drum machine). Development of new electronic musical instruments, controllers, and synthesizers continues to be a highly active and interdisciplinary field of research. Specialized conferences, such as the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression, have organized to report cutting-edge work, as well as to provide a showcase for artists who perform or create music with new electronic music instruments, controllers, and synthesizers.

A string orchestra is an orchestra consisting solely of a string section made up of the bowed strings used in Western Classical music. The instruments of such an orchestra are most often the following: the violin, which is divided into first and second violin players (each usually playing different parts), the viola, the cello, and usually, but not always, the double bass. String orchestras can be of chamber orchestra size ranging from between 12 (4 first violins, 3 second violins, 2 violas, 2 cellos and 1 bass = 12) and 21 musicians (6 first violins, 5 second violins, 4 violas, 4 cellos and 2 double basses= 21) sometimes performing without a conductor. It could also consist of the entire string section of a large symphony orchestra which could have 60 musicians (16 first violins, 14 second violins, 12 violas, 10 cellos and 8 double basses = 60; Gurre-Lieder calls for 84: 20.20.16.16.12).

Giannis Klearchou Xenakis (also spelled for professional purposes as Yannis or Iannis Xenakis; Greek: Γιάννης "Ιάννης" Κλέαρχου Ξενάκης, pronounced [ˈʝanis kseˈnacis]; 29 May 1922 – 4 February 2001) was a Romanian-born Greek-French avant-garde composer, music theorist, architect, performance director and engineer. After 1947, he fled Greece, becoming a naturalised citizen of France eighteen years later. Xenakis pioneered the use of mathematical models in music such as applications of set theory, stochastic processes and game theory and was also an important influence on the development of electronic and computer music. He integrated music with architecture, designing music for pre-existing spaces, and designing spaces to be integrated with specific music compositions and performances. Among his most important works are Metastaseis (1953–54) for orchestra, which introduced independent parts for every musician of the orchestra; percussion works such as Psappha (1975) and Pléïades (1979); compositions that introduced spatialization by dispersing musicians among the audience, such as Terretektorh (1966); electronic works created using Xenakis's UPIC system; and the massive multimedia performances Xenakis called polytopes, that were a summa of his interests and skills. Among the numerous theoretical writings he authored, the book Formalized Music: Thought and Mathematics in Composition (French edition 1963, English translation 1971) is regarded as one of his most important publications. As an architect, Xenakis is primarily known for his early work under Le Corbusier: the priory of Sainte-Marie de La Tourette, on which the two collaborated, and the Philips Pavilion at the 1958 Brussels World's Fair (Expo 58), which Xenakis designed by himself.

Synaphaï (Greek: connexities) is a composition for piano and orchestra by Greek composer Iannis Xenakis. It was finished in 1969 and premiered in 1971.

This article presents a complete list of compositions by Greek composer Iannis Xenakis (1922-2001), organized by instrumentation. Within each category, the works are arranged chronologically by year of composition.

Troorkh is a composition for trombone and orchestra by Greek composer Iannis Xenakis. It was commissioned by Swedish Radio for Swedish trombonist Christian Lindberg, to whom it is dedicated, and was completed in 1991. It was premiered on March 26, 1993 at Berwald Hall in Stockholm by the Swedish Radio Orchestra under Esa-Pekka Salonen, with Lindberg as the soloist.