Edgard Varèse died on November 6, 1965 in New York at the age of 81. He had come to be recognised as one of the fathers of ‘new music’ and as an example of commitment to opening up unexplored artistic territory.

Born in Paris to an Italian father and French mother, Varèse began his musical studies in Turin then and went on to complete them in Paris. Though perfectly at home in the European music world and highly regarded by important composers like Busoni and Debussy, in 1914 he decided to set off for the United States to undertake a new artistic career there. In New York, where he lived, he played a leading role in promoting and producing contemporary music events, spreading knowledge of composers and works that were as yet unknown in the United States.

Ameriques
In 1920/21 he composed Ameriques, the first in a series of compositions that would bring him to the attention of the musical and cultural world. Performed for the first time in 1926 by the Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Leopold Stokowski, Ameriques aroused considerable interest on account of its extreme dissonances and polyphonic texture. Varèse presents a series of daring musical ideas intended to represent his life in New York. He was less concerned with melody than overall musical structure, and favored percussion instruments over the strings. A composition for a huge orchestra, Ameriques has by now secured a stable position in the repertory of the world’s most important orchestras.

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the death of Edgard Varèse, the Filarmonica della Scala under the direction of Fabio Luisi will perform the work on its first concert for 2015 on January 12. January will also see several other performances of works by Varèse, including: Tuning up on 14 January in Paris with the Orchestre de Paris and on January 9 in Singapore with Orchestra of the Music Makers, and Integrales on January 15 in Paris with the Orchestre du Conservatoire directed by Alexandra Cravero.

Get more information about Ameriques

Edgard Varèse: work list