Varese - Amériques, Offrandes, Octandre, Hyperprism, Arcana
Kent Nagano is a young and brilliant figure among contemporary conductors, and perhaps this suits him for the music of Varese, the audacious French rebel. The purity of Phyllis Bryn-Julson's soprano contrasts with the static, almost metallic blocks of sound that characterize Varese'sOffrandes--the instrumental writing seems to flaunt itself in the face of traditional notions of beauty. Nagano's strategy is not to smooth over the harshness of Varese's music; he lets it vibrate and sizzle.--Joshua Cody