Varèse, Edgard

During the 1920s, Varese was one of the most active composers in the United States, organising concerts of “new music,” both American and European, in New York and elsewhere. The works from this second period use fairly small wind and percussion ensembles (he disliked strings). Varese also introduced extra percussion, employing the instruments as much for timbre as for rhythm, and “noise instruments” such as sirens. Important pieces from this period were Ameriques, for orchestra and siren...