Track Listing

1. Ionisation, for 13 percussionists
2. Amériques, for orchestra
3. Density 21.5, for flute solo
4. Offrandes, for soprano & chamber orchestra: Chanson de là--haut
5. Offrandes, for soprano & chamber orchestra: La Croix du Sud
6. Arcana, for orchestra
7. Octandre, for flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, horn, trumpet, trombone, and double bass: 1. Assez lent
8. Octandre, for flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, horn, trumpet, trombone, and double bass: 2. Très vif et nerveux
9. Octandre, for flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, horn, trumpet, trombone, and double bass: 3. Grave
10. Intégrales, for 11 winds & 4 percussionists

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #108326 in Music
• Brand: Sony
• Released on: 1991-01-14
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .24 pounds

Customer Reviews

impeccable chaos
This disc doesn't contain all of Varese's music, but it comes close at 77 minutes. Varese was not nearly as prolific as he was creative! The first recorded Varese I heard was on the VoxBox (called "Ionisation"), and five of the pieces found here are also on that disk, conducted by Cerha. What a contrast! Cerha presents Varese delicately, transparently, without passion. The advantage is that the instruments are clearly delineated. But you are left wondering what the fuss is about -- it doesn't sound very radical. Boulez emphatically captures the chaos, the energy, the alien-ness of Varese! Of course the overall impact is heightened by the inclusion of "Ameriques" and "Arcana," two 20-minute pieces for full orchestra that are bigger and louder than anything included on the VoxBox. The production value is superb -- sharp and clear -- and the packaging is faultless as well. In short, if you only had one recording by Varese, this would be an excellent choice. If you like this, by all means look for Xenakis' "Orchestral Works and Chamber Music" on Col Legno. Varese is a key influence, especially the composition "Arcana"!

A landmark
This is THE recording of Varèse's music. Boulez is by far the only conductor who truly understood his music. Even the renderings of Varèse's pupil, Chailly, are fairly disappointing in the light of these. I consider Chailly's 2-CD intégrale to be useful only for its transfer of the unique Poème électronique (and for it contains also some rare works, but these are something that maybe only scholars will be interested in). Finally, I must mention that there's also another referential CD in this wonderful mid-priced Boulez series which contains his renderings of Varèse's Déserts and Hyperprism altogether with Carter's Symphony for Three Orchestras. So, for anyone interested in 20th-century (serious) music, buy this CD right now!! and check out for the latter, too.

Good disc for those not willing to spend for the Complete
This is a good Varese disc for those unwilling to shell out for the new two-disc Complete Varese. When all is said and done, Varese was a major composer in the decade of the 1920s. These are the works on which his reputation is warranted, and these are the works on this disc. He combines a strong percussive thrust with an ear for unusual but attractive sound combinations. And Boulez and his Ensemble InterContemporain play it all lovingly and, of course, superbly.