Edgar Varese-BOULEZ CONDUCTS VARESE (1977) Columbia Masterworks

Edgar Varese-BOULEZ CONDUCTS VARESE (Columbia Masterworks 1977)
(This L.P. won the Grammy award in 1979 for "Best engineered Classical Album").

I've made this post so large in order to give folks a look at the orchestration- the percussion section is of particular interest to me. The wire sculpture at the bottom is by Alexander Calder. (All photos were acquired by searching "Edgar Varese photos".)

wiki sez: (Wiki articles are accessible by clicking on titles)

Edgard Victor Achille Charles Varèse, French pronunciation: [ɛdgaːʁ viktɔːʁ aʃil ʃaʁl vaʁɛːz], whose name was also spelled Edgar Varèse[1] (December 22, 1883 – November 6, 1965), was an innovative French-born composer who spent the greater part of his career in the United States.

Varèse's music emphasizes timbre and rhythm. He was the inventor of the term "organized sound", a phrase meaning that certain timbres and rhythms can be grouped together, sublimating into a whole new definition of music. Although his complete surviving works only last about three hours, he has been recognized as an influence by several major composers of the late 20th century. His use of new instruments and electronic resources led to his being known as the "Father of Electronic Music" while Henry Miller described him as "The stratospheric Colossus of Sound".

From the back cover notes (enclosed):

Ionisation was first performed at a Carnegie Hall concert March 6,1933. With Nicolas Slonimsky conducting.It was received with enormous enthusiasm by one part of the audience and whit horror - struck puzzlement by the other.
The Impact of the new work seemed all the greater for its brevity: it lasts barely six minutes.(...)

Ionisation (1929–1931) features the expansion and variation of rhythmic cells, and the title refers to the ionization of molecules. As the composer later described, "I was not influenced by composers as much as by natural objects and physical phenomena."
Varèse also acknowledged the influence of the Italian Futurist artists Luigi Russolo and Filippo Tommaso Marinetti in the composition of this work.

Arcana is based on a single idea, which Varese called an idee fixe rather than a conventionally symphonic theme. This "obsessive idea" consists of eleven notes, which are basically only three: and ascending minor third repeated in a syncopated rhythm.

Amériques Was written between 1918 and 1921 and revised in 1927, it is scored for a very large, romantic orchestra with additional percussion (for eleven performers) including sirens. It was the first work Varèse composed after he moved to the United States, and although it was not his first work, he destroyed many of his earlier pieces, effectively making Amériques his opus one (although he never used that designation).[1]

Structurally, the work is in one movement which lasts for around twenty-three minutes, with full orchestral involvement virtually throughout. The work is marked by its fiercely dissonant chords, and rhythmically complex polyphonies for percussion and wind. It develops in continuous evolution with recurring short motifs, which are juxtaposed without development.
Varèse intended the title Amériques to symbolize "discoveries - new worlds on earth, in the sky, or in the minds of men."

Amériques is scored for the following very large orchestra with additional percussion:

Woodwinds

3 Piccolos
4 Flutes
Alto Flute
4 Oboes
English Horn
Heckelphone
E-flat clarinet
4 Clarinets in B-flat
Bass Clarinet
Contrabass Clarinet
4 Bassoons
2 Contrabassoons

Brass
8 Horns in F6 Trumpets
4 Tenor Trombones
Bass Trombone
Bass Tuba
2 Contrabass Tubas

Percussion
Timpani (2 players)



13 Percussion Players

1: Xylophone, Triangle, Ratchet, Sleigh Bells
2: Glockenspiel, Lion's Roar, Ratchet, Whip
3: Tambourine, Gong
4: Celesta, 2 Bass Drums, Slapsticks, Gong, Triangle, Lion's Roar
5: 2 Bass Drums, Slapsticks
6: Castanets, Sleigh Bells
7: Sleigh Bells, Siren, Boat Whistle, Wind Machine
8: Cymbals, Gong
9: Snare Drum
10: Crow Call, Sleigh Bells, Lion's Roar,
Wind Machine, Triangle, Slapsticks
11: Slapsticks, Lion's Roar, Sleigh Bells, Whip
12: Whip, Triangle, Slapsticks, Wind Machine
13: Sleigh Bells, Slapsticks, Gong, Triangle

"Interior Fanfare"
4 Trumpets (2 in E-flat, 2 in D)
3 Trombones (2 Tenor, Bass)

Strings
2 Harps

Violins I, II (16 each)
Violas (14)
Violoncellos (10)
Double basses (10) (with low C extensions)

The revised version of 1927 reduced the instrumentation.(...)























Edgard Varese- BOULEZ CONDUCTS VARESE (CBS Records, 1977)

Side One:
1: Ameriques (1918-'21, Rev. 1927) (24:44)

Side Two:
2: Ionisation (1929-31) (6:07)
3: Arcana (1927) (18:22)

The New York Philharmonic,
Conducted by Pierre Boulez.



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