Varese, Edgar

(1883-1965)

   composer

   Born in Paris, Edgar Varese was a student of vincent d'indy at the Schola Cantorum and studied also at the Paris Conservatory and in Berlin. He received the advice and encouragement of the Austrian composers Gustav Mahler and Richard Strauss. He was mobilized and later discharged from the French army during World War I and then settled in New York City (1916). Orchestra leader and founder of the New Symphonic Orchestra and the International Guild of Composers, he soon established himself as one of the most original personalities in contemporary music (Amériques, for full orchestra, 1920-21; Hyperprism, for small orchestra and percussion, 1923; Octandre, for six wind instruments and counterbase, 1923; Intégrales, for small orchestra and percussion, 1925; Arcana, for full orchestra, 1927; Ionisation, for 13 percussionists, 1931; Ecua-torial, for choir, trumpets, trombones, piano, and percussion, 1934). Varese, through his compositions, prefigured electro-acoustic music, especially after tape-recording (Tape Music) allowed him to experiment in "concrete" music and electronic amplification (Déserts, 1954; Poème électronique, 1958).