“Ah, Varèse. Perfect for Valentine’s Day, no? . Edgard Varèse was French émigré who made the US his home in 1915. He had long been a composer, although much of his earlier Paris-made work has been lost, but one of his most famous compositions was completed soon after his arrival in America, the aptly named Amériques. This is ‘classical’ in nature, in that it uses a large orchestra, but is particularly notable for his innovative work with percussion. The piece includes whips and bells, a lion’s roar (an actual instrument not the recorded roar of a lion) and sirens to conjure up his vision of the new world. . I’ve had this CD for a decade or more but not listened to it for a while, so was surprised all over again at the similarities within Amériques to Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring – those chugging cello chords – as well as echoes here and there of Debussy’s flute lines in Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune. It was only when I read the sleeve notes that I realised this was intentional, and Varèse uses these quotations to perhaps bring parts of European culture with him to the Land of the Free. . This two CD set of mine includes most of his celebrated works: Hyperprism, when apparently a fist fight broke out at the premier; Density 21.5, named after the density of platinum used to make the flute, its primary instrument; Ionisation which is solely for 13 percussionists; and Déserts, premiered in 1954, it features his first use of an Ampex tape recorder and the marriage of electronic and orchestral music. . Varèse is arguably one of the most significant composers of the twentieth century, his method of composing in ‘blocks’ of sound and his concept of music as ‘organised sound’ has been influential on everyone from John Cage to Brian Eno to Frank Zappa...” . FOR FULL REVIEW & PLAYLIST CLICK LINK IN PROFILE: . #edgardvarèse #edgarvarese #amériques #density215 #ionisation #hyperprism #classicalmusic #modernclassical #stravinsky #debussy #johncage #recordcollection #nowplaying #nowlistening #randomrecordreview https://www.instagram.com/p/B8jc3tLpwYR/?igshid=nffei9t1u7f0