Edgar Varèse
The Complete Works

THE REVIEW

Two CDs! The Complete Works of Edgar Varèse. For me, the review could end right here. Who is Varèse? Well, for those who follow music from a musicological perspective as well as for pleasure, the name is not new, quite the opposite... for those who experience music (I mean) purely for entertainment, it might not mean much.

Varése! In any musical encyclopedia or online search, an entire world would open up around this excellent and genius French composer (Paris 1883) but American by adoption (New York 1965). Of course, it's not up to me, a newcomer, to praise his magnificence and the insight of his experimental research, with the aid of instruments not exactly canonical for a symphonic orchestral ensemble. Noise music? Concretism? Minimalism? No, Varèse is a 360° composer, one who avoids any label and categorization, Varèse is the one who disrupted the compositional form before anyone else, striving to conquer unprecedented and new sonorities, regardless of formal schemes or any musical discourse already existing. The father of contemporary music, a student of d'Indy, he made a musical revolution comparable to (I repeat, contemporary music) only that of Schoenberg. His works "Tuning Up" or "Amerique" for orchestra and siren, are examples of a perfect combination of unusual elements and classical instruments, highlighting the blurring between noise and music, all works from the 1920s.

The first to insert percussive and electronic elements (the first to use electricity as a possible sound element, with the Ondes Martenot), "Poème Electronique," "Density 21. 5," and "Déserts" are among the most successful works of the composer who practically inspired all music at the turn of this millennium, from Karlheinz Stockhausen to Frank Zappa (and everything in between). Emotions? Sensations? What should I say, what inspires me? Ladies and gentlemen, this is not contemplative music, this is "Organized Sound" (his literary work that describes his compositional musical language). He is a composer who deserves attentive listening, perhaps distilled over time, listening for a musical understanding of a highly cultural profile. It could have been Boulez (great connoisseur and student of Varèse) to conduct and interpret the spirit of the entire work, instead, it's entrusted to Riccardo Chailly, with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and the Asko Ensemble, not a bad alternative. All in two CDs!