Varèse : astronomer in sound / Malcolm MacDonald.
| Author/creator | MacDonald, Malcolm |
| Format | Book |
| Publication Info | London : Kahn & Averill, 2003. |
| Description | xx, 423 pages : illustrations, portraits, music ; 23 cm |
| Subjects |
| Contents | Part one: The past. The lost memory: the enigma of the early music -- 'Further and beyond': aspects of Varèse's developing aesthetic -- 'All'illustro futuro': Wronski to Busoni -- Part two: New worlds. From the Seine to Brooklyn Bridge -- Flowering crystals -- A new star and a new heaven -- Part three: Microcosm and macrocosm -- Nova and Ion -- Path of the lightning -- Lost in space -- Part four: All alone in the night -- Deserts of the mind -- Inquisition -- Beyond the night. |
| Abstract | The works of Edgard Varèse (1883-1965) represent the most radical expression of 20th-century Modernism in music. He created such staggering orchestral showpieces as Ameriques and Arcana, mainstays of the instrumental repertoire like Octandre and Density 21.5 and also pioneered works for percussion ensemble and electronic music, with tape and with electronic instruments. Varèse was a prophet of the future and remains an inescapable presence in the modern concert repertoire. The core of this book is a series of descriptive analyses, accessible to any literate music-lover, of all Varèse's available works. Malcolm MacDonald relates them to the aesthetic and scientific ideas which underlay Varèse's boldly original view of sound and musical structure. He shows how Varèse's conception of a music that 'explodes into space' and of 'intelligent sounds moving in space' arose partly from 20th-century man's expanding consciousness of his place in the universe. Yet they also derived from the esoteric philosophies of late 19th-century Paris, inspired by Renaissance alchemists such as Paracelsus. Much of Varèse's output is tragically destroyed, but it is possible to infer much about his lost early works, his vast stage composition about communication with the star Sirius, and the unachieved choral symphony Espace, designed to be performed simultaneously in the various capitals of the world. This is also the first book to discuss the previously unpublished Varèse scores released for performance in 1998. |
| Bibliography note | Includes bibliographical references and index. |
| ISBN | 9781871082791 |
| ISBN | 187108279X |
Availability
| Library | Location | Call Number | Status | Item Actions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Music | Music Stacks | ML410.V27 M22 2002 | ✔ Available | Place Hold |