Difference between revisions of "Edgard Varèse"

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[[Category:Influences]] [[Category:Composers]]
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[[Image:Youngvarese.jpg|thumb|right|Edgard Varèse]]
  
Note on his name: "Although the Christian name Edgar is spelt without a second d in French, a d appears in the official certificate confirming the birth of Varèse. So, except during a brief period of his life, Varèse always signed his name with a second d."  -  Fernand Ouellette, Edgard Varèse, a musical biography (1966)
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[[Edgard Varèse]] (Paris, December 22 1883 - New York, November 6, 1965) was a French composer, often credited as the "Father of Electronic Music". His best known works are [[Octandre]], [[Déserts]], [[Ionisation]], [[Hyperprism]], [[Arcana]], [[Poème Electronique]] and [[Amériques]].
  
Born Paris 22nd December 1883
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He was Zappa's main musical influence and the artist who inspired him to become a composer.
  
Died New York 6th November 1965
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==Biography of Varèse's life==
  
 +
[[Edgard Varèse|Varèse]] was born a few days after [[Anton Webern]] and was the son of an authoritarian father, who left him to be raised by his grandparents in pursuance of an engineering career. Like Zappa, [[Edgard Varèse|Varèse]] had a peripatetic youth, uprooting and residing in Villars, Paris, Berlin and Turin.
  
In 1971 Frank Zappa wrote [[Edgard Varèse: The Idol of My Youth]] about his discovery of, and enthusiasm for, the music of Varèse.
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Ouellette's biography of '''Varèse''' establishes the spelling of his first name;
  
Zappa is interviewed for the radio documentary [http://www.archive.org/stream/VareseSonicLiberation Varèse:Sonic Liberation] (MP3 stream (58 minutes))
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<blockquote>"Although the Christian name Edgar is spelt without a second 'd' in French, a 'd' appears in the official certificate confirming the birth of Varèse. So, except during a brief period of his life, Varèse always signed his name with a second 'd'."</blockquote>
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<div align=right>–"[[Edgard Varèse]], a musical biography" by Fernand Ouellette  (1966)</div>
  
  
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Growing up in a world where he rarely heard music he was fascinated by sound – the whistle of a train, the sounds of the wind, the ebb and flow of rivers and the rhythms of an industrial city. By 1904 he was a student at the [[wikipedia:Schola Cantorum|Schola Cantorum]], and later at the [[wikipedia:Conservatoire de Paris|Paris Conservatoire]].
  
"''I long for instruments obedient to my thought and whim, with their contribution of a whole new world of unsuspected sounds, which will lend themselves to the exigencies of my inner rhythm.''" - Varèse in 1917
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In November 1907 [[Edgard Varèse|Varèse]] married the actress [[wikipedia:Suzanne Bing|Suzanne Bing]], whom he had met at the Conservatoire, and they moved to Berlin. They had a daughter, but were divorced by 1913 in pursuance of their own careers. She moved to America with her theatre company, spending a period in New York where the company had a two year residency at a Garrick Theatre. [not the [[Garrick Theater]]]. In 1915 [[Edgard Varèse|Varèse]] also moved to America, having had most of his early works destroyed by a fire in Berlin.
  
From "BBC.co.uk - Music Profiles: Edgard Varèse" (http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/profiles/varese.shtml): The highly influential French avant-garde composer who settled in America. Ahead of his time, the quest to free sound from the limitations of normal instruments led Varèse to combine technology with art, focussing on percussion instruments and electronics, taped sounds, loud speakers, sirens, dissonance and extremes of contrast.
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[[Edgard Varèse|Varèse]] worked at promoting his vision of a ''new electronic music'' while employed as a copyist, teacher and conductor. He founded the short-lived ''New World Orchestra'' and composed ''Amériques'', which he finished in 1921, but it would not be performed for another five years. During the summer of 1921 [[Edgard Varèse|Varèse]] and [[wikipedia:Carlos Salzedo|Carlos Salzedo]] set up the ''International Composers' Guild'' (ICG), to promote the performance of contemporary music. Their manifesto stated;
  
Varèse in one minute (also from http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/profiles/varese.shtml):
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<blockquote>"Dying is the privilege of the weary. The present day composers refuse to die. They have realized the necessity of banding together and fighting for the right of each individual to secure a fair and free presentation of his work".</blockquote>
* Pioneering French composer who lived in New York
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* He wrote carefully organised pieces that explore a thin line between music and noise
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During the next six years the ICG presented works by fifty six composers, including [[Arnold Schoenberg|Schoenberg]], [[Igor Stravinsky|Stravinsky]], [[Anton Webern|Webern]], Berg, Hindemith and Honegger. During this period [[Edgard Varèse|Varèse]] composed ''Offrandes'', ''Hyperprism'', ''Octandre'', and ''Intégrales''.
* Introduced Debussy to Schoenberg's music, and was a close friend of Busoni
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* Ionisation was the first piece to be written for a percussion ensemble, and also included a siren
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In November 1927 [[Edgard Varèse|Varèse]] dissolved the ICG and, in 1928, established the ''Pan American Association of Composers'' with [[Nicolas Slonimsky]] as it's principal conductor. [[Edgard Varèse|Varèse]] returned to Paris in 1928, where he set about modifying the score of ''Amériques'' to include the ''[[wikipedia:Ondes Martenot|Ondes Martenot]]'' and, around 1930, composed ''Ionisation'' for percussion instruments. It was first performed on March 6, 1933 at Carnegie Hall, with [[Nicolas Slonimsky]] conducting.
* The premiere of his Hyperprism scandalized New York in 1923
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* Varèse was an early exponent of electronic music with his Déserts and Poème Electronique
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At this time some American moralists were expressing concerns about the corruption of young American students studying in Paris. Over 50 years before Zappa's exchanges with the [[Z-Pack - L.A. Times article|PMRC]] regarding morality and music, [[Edgard Varèse|Varèse]] responded to these earlier American moralists' concerns in a interview;
* He looked, and sometimes acted, like an eccentric, mad professor
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 +
<blockquote>"I feel suspicious of anyone who sets himself up as a judge of other people's morals, building himself a wall of such lofty morality that one has to wonder what he is hiding behind it".</blockquote> 
 +
 
 +
By 1933 [[Edgard Varèse|Varèse]] was back in New York, having finished ''Ecuatorial'' which was first performed in 1934, again under [[Nicolas Slonimsky]]. (to be continued ...)
 +
 
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==Quote==
 +
 +
<blockquote>In my compositions, I employ a system of weights, balances, measured tensions and releases – in some ways similar to [[Edgard Varèse|Varèse]]'s aesthetic. The similarities are best illustrated by comparison to a Calder mobile: a multicolored whatchamacallit, dangling in space, that has big blobs of metal connected to pieces of wire, balanced ingeniously against little metal dingleberries on the other end. [[Edgard Varèse|Varèse]] knew Calder, and was fascinated by these creations.</blockquote> 
 +
<div align=right>–Frank Zappa in [[The Real Frank Zappa Book]]</div>
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 +
==Zappa references==
 +
 
 +
During "[[Star Special]]" (BBC Radio 1 in 1980). played ''[[Hyperprism]]'' and commented;
 +
 
 +
<blockquote>"Varèse was a really cool guy. The only thing that he did that was wrong was he stopped composing for 25 years because people gave him a bad time. If people wouldn't have given him a bad time, he could have been writing for 25 more years and there would be 25 more years worth of stuff like that for the people who like that kind of stuff. But most people don't".</blockquote>
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Throughout his life Zappa honored the work of [[Edgard Varèse|Varèse]]. In "[[Son of Suzy Creamcheese]]", an article by [[Robert Shelton]], [[The New York Times]], 1966, Zappa said of ''[[Amériques]]''; "It blows my mind. It’s my favorite top-40 record". FZ's 1989 playlist of ten records for the American radio show [[Castaway's Choice]], hosted by John McNally, included Varèse's ''[[Octandre]]''. He also played "Octandre" during the [[Musik Für Junge Leute]] show. [[Image:Ems401.gif|right|EMS 401]]. In [[Faves, Raves And Composers In Their Graves]] Zappa named ''"The [[Complete Works Of Edgard Varèse, Volume 1]]"'' as one of his favorite records.
 +
 
 +
In 1971 Zappa wrote "[[Edgard Varèse: The Idol of My Youth]]",  an insight into his discovery of, and enthusiasm for, the music of Varèse. FZ was also interviewed for the [[Edgard Varèse|Varèse]] appreciation radio documentary [http://www.archive.org/stream/VareseSonicLiberation Varèse:Sonic Liberation] [<small>MP3 stream (58 minutes)</small>]
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[[Edgard Varèse]] is name-checked on the cover of Zappa's album "[[Freak Out!]]" (1966) under the heading "These People Have Contributed Materially In Many Ways To Make Our Music What It Is. Please Do Not Hold It Against Them". He is also mentioned in "[[The Real Frank Zappa Book]]" (1989).
 +
 
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[[Wikipedia:Robert Lamm|Robert Lamm]], founder of the band [[Wikipedia:Chicago (band)|Chicago]], says of a '''Varèse''' inspired [Chicago V] track;
 +
<blockquote>Varèse's music "really kind of set us free in terms of what was possible musically". And so, what I was trying to say in 'A Hit by Varèse' was, "Wouldn't it be great if music this free could actually be accepted on radio — not just by the programmers, but by the people listening?'"</blockquote>
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 +
[[Edgard Varèse]] said of his work;
 +
 
 +
<blockquote>"I long for instruments obedient to my thought and whim, with their contribution of a whole new world of unsuspected sounds, which will lend themselves to the exigencies of my inner rhythm."</blockquote>
 +
<div align=right> – [[Edgard Varèse]], 1917</div>
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==See also==
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*[[Complete Works Of Edgard Varèse, Volume 1]]
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*[[Varèse: The Rage & The Fury]]
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*[[Frank Zappa on Edgar Varèse]]
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*[[Edgard Varèse: The Idol of My Youth]]
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*[[Louise Varèse]]
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*[[Zappa's letter to Varèse]]
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*[[In Memoriam Edgar Varese]]
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==More information==
 +
*[[Wikipedia:Edgard Varèse|Wikipedia Edgard Varèse article]]
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[[Category:Influences|Varèse, Edgard]]
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[[Category:Composers|Varèse, Edgard]]
 +
[[Category:Favorite Artists|Varèse, Edgard]]
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[[Category:Freak Out! (The List)|Varèse, Edgard]]
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[[Category:The Real Frank Zappa Book (The List)|Varèse, Edgard]]

Revision as of 18:53, 26 October 2020

Edgard Varèse

Edgard Varèse (Paris, December 22 1883 - New York, November 6, 1965) was a French composer, often credited as the "Father of Electronic Music". His best known works are Octandre, Déserts, Ionisation, Hyperprism, Arcana, Poème Electronique and Amériques.

He was Zappa's main musical influence and the artist who inspired him to become a composer.

Biography of Varèse's life

Varèse was born a few days after Anton Webern and was the son of an authoritarian father, who left him to be raised by his grandparents in pursuance of an engineering career. Like Zappa, Varèse had a peripatetic youth, uprooting and residing in Villars, Paris, Berlin and Turin.

Ouellette's biography of Varèse establishes the spelling of his first name;

"Although the Christian name Edgar is spelt without a second 'd' in French, a 'd' appears in the official certificate confirming the birth of Varèse. So, except during a brief period of his life, Varèse always signed his name with a second 'd'."

–"Edgard Varèse, a musical biography" by Fernand Ouellette (1966)


Growing up in a world where he rarely heard music he was fascinated by sound – the whistle of a train, the sounds of the wind, the ebb and flow of rivers and the rhythms of an industrial city. By 1904 he was a student at the Schola Cantorum, and later at the Paris Conservatoire.

In November 1907 Varèse married the actress Suzanne Bing, whom he had met at the Conservatoire, and they moved to Berlin. They had a daughter, but were divorced by 1913 in pursuance of their own careers. She moved to America with her theatre company, spending a period in New York where the company had a two year residency at a Garrick Theatre. [not the Garrick Theater]. In 1915 Varèse also moved to America, having had most of his early works destroyed by a fire in Berlin.

Varèse worked at promoting his vision of a new electronic music while employed as a copyist, teacher and conductor. He founded the short-lived New World Orchestra and composed Amériques, which he finished in 1921, but it would not be performed for another five years. During the summer of 1921 Varèse and Carlos Salzedo set up the International Composers' Guild (ICG), to promote the performance of contemporary music. Their manifesto stated;

"Dying is the privilege of the weary. The present day composers refuse to die. They have realized the necessity of banding together and fighting for the right of each individual to secure a fair and free presentation of his work".

During the next six years the ICG presented works by fifty six composers, including Schoenberg, Stravinsky, Webern, Berg, Hindemith and Honegger. During this period Varèse composed Offrandes, Hyperprism, Octandre, and Intégrales.

In November 1927 Varèse dissolved the ICG and, in 1928, established the Pan American Association of Composers with Nicolas Slonimsky as it's principal conductor. Varèse returned to Paris in 1928, where he set about modifying the score of Amériques to include the Ondes Martenot and, around 1930, composed Ionisation for percussion instruments. It was first performed on March 6, 1933 at Carnegie Hall, with Nicolas Slonimsky conducting.

At this time some American moralists were expressing concerns about the corruption of young American students studying in Paris. Over 50 years before Zappa's exchanges with the PMRC regarding morality and music, Varèse responded to these earlier American moralists' concerns in a interview;

"I feel suspicious of anyone who sets himself up as a judge of other people's morals, building himself a wall of such lofty morality that one has to wonder what he is hiding behind it".

By 1933 Varèse was back in New York, having finished Ecuatorial which was first performed in 1934, again under Nicolas Slonimsky. (to be continued ...)

Quote

In my compositions, I employ a system of weights, balances, measured tensions and releases – in some ways similar to Varèse's aesthetic. The similarities are best illustrated by comparison to a Calder mobile: a multicolored whatchamacallit, dangling in space, that has big blobs of metal connected to pieces of wire, balanced ingeniously against little metal dingleberries on the other end. Varèse knew Calder, and was fascinated by these creations.

–Frank Zappa in The Real Frank Zappa Book

Zappa references

During "Star Special" (BBC Radio 1 in 1980). played Hyperprism and commented;

"Varèse was a really cool guy. The only thing that he did that was wrong was he stopped composing for 25 years because people gave him a bad time. If people wouldn't have given him a bad time, he could have been writing for 25 more years and there would be 25 more years worth of stuff like that for the people who like that kind of stuff. But most people don't".

Throughout his life Zappa honored the work of Varèse. In "Son of Suzy Creamcheese", an article by Robert Shelton, The New York Times, 1966, Zappa said of Amériques; "It blows my mind. It’s my favorite top-40 record". FZ's 1989 playlist of ten records for the American radio show Castaway's Choice, hosted by John McNally, included Varèse's Octandre. He also played "Octandre" during the Musik Für Junge Leute show.

EMS 401

. In Faves, Raves And Composers In Their Graves Zappa named "The Complete Works Of Edgard Varèse, Volume 1" as one of his favorite records.

In 1971 Zappa wrote "Edgard Varèse: The Idol of My Youth", an insight into his discovery of, and enthusiasm for, the music of Varèse. FZ was also interviewed for the Varèse appreciation radio documentary Varèse:Sonic Liberation [MP3 stream (58 minutes)]

Edgard Varèse is name-checked on the cover of Zappa's album "Freak Out!" (1966) under the heading "These People Have Contributed Materially In Many Ways To Make Our Music What It Is. Please Do Not Hold It Against Them". He is also mentioned in "The Real Frank Zappa Book" (1989).

Robert Lamm, founder of the band Chicago, says of a Varèse inspired [Chicago V] track;

Varèse's music "really kind of set us free in terms of what was possible musically". And so, what I was trying to say in 'A Hit by Varèse' was, "Wouldn't it be great if music this free could actually be accepted on radio — not just by the programmers, but by the people listening?'"

Edgard Varèse said of his work;

"I long for instruments obedient to my thought and whim, with their contribution of a whole new world of unsuspected sounds, which will lend themselves to the exigencies of my inner rhythm."

Edgard Varèse, 1917

See also

More information