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Home > Classical Music > Chamber Music > Octets > Varese Arcana Ameriques Ionization Offrandes Density 21 5 Octandre Integrales
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Varese: Arcana; Ameriques; Ionization; Offrandes; Density 21.5; Octandre; Integrales

 Rating 4
enlarged image: Varese: Arcana; Ameriques; Ionization; Offrandes; Density 21.5; Octandre; Integrales
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80% Recommended by our customers.
Label: Sony
Catalog: Music
Release date: 1991-01-14
Media: Audio CD
discs number: 1
Ean: 0074644584424
Upc: 074644584424
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Album tracks: (5)
 Chanson de là--haut
 La Croix du Sud
 1. Assez lent
 2. Très vif et nerveux
 3. Grave

User Reviews:
 Rating 3   Written on October 2, 2001
   Summary: Hmm...
I was interested in this CD because I had heard a few of Varese's more popular works (Ionisation, Integrales), liked them and was interested in what else this composer had to offer. Well, this CD is basically more of the same, only of lesser quality. If you have not heard Varese's music before, most of it involves forlorn sounding melodies with equally forlorn accompaniment (lots of tritones) mixed together with percussion. Considering his output fills less than two CDs, you would expect it to be a lot more varied and interesting. I suppose Varese may have been a 20th century pioneer (use of timbre, etc) but his music is not all that appealing to me. There are much better 20th century composers, I think.

 Rating 5   Written on August 15, 2001
   Summary: A landmark
This is THE recording of Varèse's music. Boulez is by far the only conductor who truly understood his music. Even the renderings of Varèse's pupil, Chailly, are fairly disappointing in the light of these. I consider Chailly's 2-CD intégrale to be useful only for its transfer of the unique Poème électronique (and for it contains also some rare works, but these are something that maybe only scholars will be interested in). Finally, I must mention that there's also another referential CD in this wonderful mid-priced Boulez series which contains his renderings of Varèse's Déserts and Hyperprism altogether with Carter's Symphony for Three Orchestras. So, for anyone interested in 20th-century (serious) music, buy this CD right now!! and check out for the latter, too.

 Rating 5   Written on April 13, 2001
   Summary: Polished Sound
I've been a fan of Frank Zappa's since the 60's and have been well aware of his debt to Edgar Varese since I first purchased FREAK OUT many years ago. As a result, I had to purchase Pierre Boulez's presentation of Varese's composition. I can make several points that might be helpful to others reading this.

First, the quality of the CD is beyond normal! I heard this CD for the first time on a pair of EPI 50's. These speakers are over 20 years old. The quality of the sound is incredible! I've never heard anything better. On this CD, you'll hear every slight nuance of sound. It is an impressive piece of sound engineering.

Second, the work of Varese will make a Zappa fan reflect. In particular, I found myself imagining a young Frank Zappa (about age 13) listening to this over, and over, and over. I can see the influence that Varese had on Zappa. It is interesting to realize the profound influence Varese's compositions had on the mind of the young Frank Zappa. Clearly, it was a pivotal point in Zappa's life.

Third, I am not musically gifted. In fact, my piano teacher encouraged me to stop taking lessons. I found the Varese's compositions to be much more polished than Frank Zappa's. Now, my impression could be the result of the extremely high quality of the sound engineering for this CD. OR, perhaps, Zappa died prematurely and did not have the opportunity to achieve the level of polished sound that Varese had acquired. I don't know.

Any fan of Zappa will truly enjoy this CD. If you are, I suggest that you purchase this CD before it is discontinued.


 Rating 5   Written on March 15, 2001
   Summary: This music rocks
i first heard of varese in my frank zappa book, he was mentioned as an influence. There's loads of great drumming in this album, loads of loud percussion. Ionisation is a huge sounding percussion thing. This is guaranteed to wake up your neighbours, play it very loud. Ameriques is a great 23 minute orchestral work, which reminds me a bit of rite of spring, but it is a hell of a lot louder. It's a top tune-it has quiet bits too for the women. The flute bit is immaculately played by some guy. Top tune. Then some singing bits by a girl, lovely stuff and short too. More orchestral fun in 'arcana', which is about 19 minutes. This is a loud guy too, so use them high volume speakers. Boulez does a great job getting the huge sound from this huge ensemble. Octandre is a 3 part composition for clarinets and stuff. It's a delightful bit of music . Integrales wraps up the gig, another really top tune. I only have this version of these tunes so i can't compare them to other interpretations. But they sound right to me. This is the best tenner you'll ever spend! Thank you

 Rating 4   Written on December 13, 1999
   Summary: Good disc for those not willing to spend for the Complete
This is a good Varese disc for those unwilling to shell out for the new two-disc Complete Varese. When all is said and done, Varese was a major composer in the decade of the 1920s. These are the works on which his reputation is warranted, and these are the works on this disc. He combines a strong percussive thrust with an ear for unusual but attractive sound combinations. And Boulez and his Ensemble InterContemporain play it all lovingly and, of course, superbly.

Comparison map
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Our price$9.98$33.98$9.98$16.98$9.98$9.99
List price$9.98$33.98$9.98$16.98$9.98$10.98
Lowest used price$4.50$21.00$4.87$4.49$4.00$5.99
Lowest new price$6.30$21.94$4.86$9.88$5.11$7.10
Collectible price$19.63-----
CatalogMusicMusicMusicMusicMusicMusic
Release date1991-01-141998-09-151993-07-132001-08-141995-12-051989-08-11
MediaAudio CDAudio CDAudio CDAudio CDAudio CDAudio CD
discs number121111
Ean007464458442400289460208210074644846324002894711372000746468334210078635783520
Upc074644584424028946020821074644846324028947113720746468334218078635783520
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