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Edgard Varèse

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Edgard Varèse was born in Paris in 1883 and grew up with relatives in Burgundy. His father, an engineer, wanted him to study engineering, but Edgard chose music. He studied in Paris at the Schola Cantorum and the conservatoire and in 1907 moved to Berlin, where the progressive composer Ferruccio Busoni strongly influenced him. Almost all of his early work was lost or destroyed by him. In 1915 he left for the United States, where he started again.

Music and breakthrough

In New York he wrote Amériques, which was performed in 1926 by the Philadelphia Orchestra under Leopold Stokowski. Pieces such as Hyperprism, Octandre and Intégrales followed, mainly for winds and percussion. Around 1930 he wrote Ionisation, for percussion and sirens, one of the first Western works for percussion instruments alone. Varèse dreamed early on of electronic sounds. Ecuatorial uses two theremins, and in Déserts (1954) an orchestra alternates with a tape. For the Philips Pavilion at Expo 58 in Brussels he made the Poème électronique.

Influence

Varèse did not think in melodies and chords, but in timbre, rhythm and blocks of sound. He called his music organised sound and asked what music was, if not organised noise. His entire surviving output lasts only about three hours, yet many composers of the late twentieth century named him as an example. Because of his work with new instruments and electronics he gained the nickname father of electronic music. He died in New York in 1965.

Listening

Listening tip. Listen to the Poème électronique and notice the sounds: many of them do not come from ordinary instruments. Hear how Varèse follows no melody, but places blocks of sound next to and after one another.

Discography

Studio albums

In School of Rock

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Categories: Artists