| The View from the Edge is about the role of percussion in modern music and is a sequel to el's previous Varese edition, The Complete Works of Edgard Varese Volume 1, an important restoration of the composer's earliest recordings. Varese has a strong base in America, mostly by virtue of the association with Frank Zappa, who for years championed the work of this genius who today is regarded as “The Father Of Electronic Music”; a man that has been described as the Leonardo da Vinci of modern music.
‘Arcana’ and ‘Ionisation’ are the composer's key works; two of the most important of the twentieth century. Leonard Bernstein's historic seventeen minute Arcana with The New York Philharmonic is amongst the rarest Varese recordings. The American Percussion Society's vigorous recording of ‘Ionisation’ has been inexplicably out of print for five decades.
The Oliver Messiaen pieces are his first official recordings ever, dating from 1946 & 1947, and originally released on 78 by Pathe. Both are beautifully performed by a young Yvonne Loriod. |