Edgard Varese
by Felix Meyer, Heidy Zimmermann, Museum Jean Tinguely Basel
Category: Biography & Autobiography

Edgard Varèse, the pioneering composer of electronic music, formed the subject of a major exhibition in Basel in 2006; it displayed many previously unknown documents from the composer's estate, including manuscripts, letters, and other material. This volume contains detailed commentaries on all the items on display, as well as thirty-two essays by leading authors from Europe and America. Varèse's life and music are discussed under the following headings: Influences - Points of Orientation; Conductor and Initiator in New York; Probing Uncharted Territory; Impact and Reception. Many previously unknown documents from the composer's estate, recently acquired by the Paul Sacher Foundation, form the basis of a nuanced picture of Varèse's life, musical thought, and compositional output. The book is lavishly illustrated with facsimiles of manuscripts, letters, and other documents from the composer's collection, as well as reproductions of paintings, drawings and sculpture documenting Varèse's close ties to the visual arts. Contributors: JONATHAN W. BERNARD, GIANMARIO BORIO, DIANE BOUCHARD, AUSTIN CLARKSON, HERMANN DANUSER, MICHEL DUCHESNEAU, SABINE FEISST, KYLE GANN, FRITZ GERBER, THEO HIRSBRUNNER, ANNE JOSTKLEIGREWE, MATTHIAS KASSEL, SYLVIA KAHAN, KLAUS KROPFINGER, ERNST LICHTENHAHN, MALCOLM MACDONALD, GUIDO MAGNAGUAGNO, OLIVIA MATTIS, ULRICH MOSCH, HELGA DE LA MOTTE-HABER, FELIX MEYER, DIETER NANZ, ROBERT PIENCIKOWSKI, WOLFGANG RATHERT, DAVID SCHIFF, ANNE C. SHREFFLER, HEINZ STAHLHUT, JüRG STENZL, DENISE VON GLAHN, CHOU WEN-CHUNG, HEIDY ZIMMERMANN. Published in cooperation with the Paul Sacher Foundation.