Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. Integrales For Small Orchestra And Percussion
2. Offrandes For Soprano And Chamber Orchestra: Chanson de la haut
3. Offrandes For Soprano And Chamber Orchestra: La croix du sud
4. Density For Flute
5. Octandre For Flute, Clarinet, Oboe, Horn, Bassoon, Trumpet, Trombone And Double Bass (Assez lent; Tres vif et nerveux; Grave)
6. Hyperprism For Small Orchestra And Percussion
7. Helmut Reissberger: Ionisation For Percussion Ensemble Of 13 Players
8. 'Emanationen', For 2 String Orchestras
9. Sonata For Cello And Orchestra
10. String Quartet No. 1 (1960)

Disc 2:

1. Stabat Mater
2. Miserere
3. Miniatures For Violin & Piano (1959)
4. Aventures-Nouvelles Aventures, For 3 Singers & 7 Instrumentalists: Aventures
5. Aventures-Nouvelles Aventures, For 3 Singers & 7 Instrumentalists: Nouvelles aventures
6. Aventures-Nouvelles Aventures, For 3 Singers & 7 Instrumentalists: Volumina (Original Version 1961-62) - Dedicated To Hans Otte And Karl-Erik Welin
7. Aventures-Nouvelles Aventures, For 3 Singers & 7 Instrumentalists: Etude No. 1 'Harmonies' (1967) - Dedicated To Gerd Zacher

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #224890 in Music
• Released on: 1996-07-09
• Number of discs: 2

Customer Reviews

great sample of 20th century modernism!
Just as I was familiar with Gyorgy Ligeti's music because of "2001," I was familiar with the name Varese through Frank Zappa long before I learned much of anything else about 20th century composition. It wasn't until this disc, though, that I finally heard Varese's music. Frankly it took several listens before I really heard it -- I didn't find it as immediately compelling as, say, Carter or Ligeti. But give it time, and you can hear why such uncompromising later radicals as Xenakis considered Varese to be absolutely pivotal in developing a new language of space, rhythm and intensity. "Ionisation" for percussion is the culminating piece here, complete with sirens! I wish Varese had been more prolific, and realized his "vision" more fully with electronics.

I'm not sure what the logic was of including Penderecki and Ligeti with Varese, but the music is great! Penderecki's instrumentation is conventional compared to Varese, and the music is somber and tragic, with bursts of terrifying dissonance. The string quartet is splendid. Then comes Ligeti with music first for vocals, and then for organ, and any previous concept of music is out the window. I can't help but laugh at "Adventures"! Here is an excerpt from the equally amusing liner notes on Ligeti by Dr. William B. Ober: "...Ligeti's "Poeme Symphonique"..., certainly atonal, directs the 'listener' to meter without distracting his ear by melody or harmony... [H]e escapes the solecism of structural coherence, enabling the 'listener' to concentrate on texture."

I was led by this disc to seek out more 20th century music. It serves as an excellent bargain introduction, and I'm now discovering how right Stravinsky was to emphasize the importance of multiple interpretations of compositions, so it's great to eventually duplicate some of these pieces on other recordings.

Varese was the first record Frank Zappa ever bought.
This is a personal note, not a review. I am only just now buyng this CD. My interest is in tracing the influences on Frank Zappa. In his autobiography, Zappa explains that a Varese album, "The Complete Works of Edgard Varese, Volume I," was the first record he ever bought while still a teenager in El Cajon, California. He talks of the profound affect it had on him and often credited Varese on his album covers in the 60's and 70's. I find Zappa's music rich, deep, and incredibly original -- as well as funny. The pieces in his album, "Hot Rats," give evidence of a composer able to find inspiration in doo-wop, dada, rock, and, apparently, Varese.

Take your bottle of aspirin; you'll need it
I figured I would find at least one interesting and LISTENABLE piece of contemporary music on this value priced two cd set so I bought it. Boy, was I wrong! This is some of the most annoying, nerve deadening music (I use that term loosely) I have ever heard. The Ligeti organ piece sounds like someone pulling the plug on an electric organ as it slowly dies out. The Varese pieces are just unlistenable. Penderecki is praised by a number of modern music lovers but I could not find one redeeming fragment in the works contained here. The liner notes show how far gone contemporary music has gone. They appear to be a veiled apology for the crimes committed here. The author of them seems to make one excuse after another for why these pieces will appeal to so few people, as if that was something to be proud of. If composers of "serious" music don't care if their music has an audience, that's fine with me. Perhaps, in their minds, having people who actually enjoy their music is a sign of failure or serious miscalculation on their parts. They can all join the list of contemporary poets who are writing for no one but other contemporary poets as no one bothers with them either. I just do not believe that this music will survive the decades to come. No one even listens to it or buys it now. Farewell, and good riddance!