Edgard Varèse, Ionisation - Ensemble intercontemporain 

Performed this many years ago, forgot how much groove there is to certain sections. Grade A club smasher.

Zappa had this record and would put chalk marks on the vinyl where the loud parts came in to cut to them when trying to impress his friends with this music. The average teen in the 50s was listening to Elvis and Pat Boone...

When you watch a clip like this on RU-vid, you’ll never be interrupted with advertisements.

Frank and Ruth. I'm still a fan. They're still my heroes.

This is by far the best, and only, version I have heard of this piece.

I have a theory about why the teenage Zappa loved this so much. Listen to it. The snare drum has a definite motif. Zappa’s first instrument was marching band drum. He was taught the rudiments, and the recorded evidence shows that he wasn’t a bad drummer. The snare drum is basically the lead instrument in this piece, with the sirens an important supporting instrument. Zappa grew up with a father who worked as a contractor for the Department of Defense. He spent the earliest years of his life growing up next door to Edgewood Arsenal in the Aberdeen Proving Grounds in Maryland. He must have got used to the sound of sirens; they used to be used all the time. I had friends as a kid who lived in Cork city in Ireland, and sirens were used every morning to alert dock workers that it was time to clock in. You could hear them all over the city. They must have been used even more frequently in US military installations, if only for emergency drill purposes. The teenage Zappa hears a piece of modern music that incorporates snare drum, his own instrument, and sirens, the sound he most didn't want to hear. No wonder he wanted to become a composer.

You know I've been a musician for over 50 years and I've done a lot of experimental music ambient music electronic music I love experimenting but I've listened to this and others and it doesn't make me cry. Mussorgsky makes me cry.

That had to have been the most sensitive and moving performance of an air raid siren I’ve ever heard.

BRAVO! Awesome work, ladies and gentlemen!

When you're in band practice and you ask your drummer to play a four on the floor

I am delighted anyone undertakes a performance of Edgar's wonderful landmark work! Bravo for you ! I have studied and been an admirer or Edgar since 1969! Thank you for keeping Varese alive and in the halls.

This is beautiful. I don't believe that I'm able to comprehend entirely what's going on. But the sheer sounds of the instruments as they go along in the composition are very stimulating. I would love to hear that in a concert hall.

To me, it seems to be about aerial bombing. It could be considered as an audio complement to 'Guernica'. Building up to it - banging the drums of war, air-raid sirens, the deafening explosions, sirens becoming wails of despair, then just an eerie silence. But it's open to virtually limitless interpretations.

Another classic side with percussion.

Fantastic recording. Glad the mixing was capable of making all instruments properly audible unlike many other recordings available on RU-vid.

Wonderful piece - what an ending!

totally awesome!

AWESOME job! Bravo!

Perfect tempo. Textural clarity.

Great Work, perfect!!

this is my favourite roadtrip song

Totally blown away! When i first heard the audio of this, I had my fair share of doubts if anyone would be able to pull this off live. You guys did a splendid job!

awesome. just awesome...

Perfectly done.

"The present-day composer refuses to die." Edgard Varese

I haven't heard this piece since I was in college. Great job here. The different timbres, articulation, and style are perfect. One might think that a percussion piece would be all loud - boom bang boom- but not this one. Superb camera work too.

magnifique!

Very catchy! Genius' masterpiece!

It's awesome listening to all the different timbres of the percussion instruments, and the variety of sound that can be coaxed from each instrument depending on how it is played. Great audio quality too :)

incredible.

Nicely done. Well played, recording sounds great and nice videography.

La meillleure version! Bravo!

Wonderful playing.

So much percussion. Nice.

BRAVO! Now I know why this was one of Frank Zappa's favorite compositions!

still love it!!

This reminds me of my alma mater UCSD.....we'd have these strange concerts going on constantly. Varese was best man when Nicolas Slonimsky was married in the 30s....great bio fr latter: Perfect Pitch. Kind regards Dgunde, viola, piano, etc.....

Awesome.

Probably one of the best performances of this piece I've ever heard wooooow

Omg fantastic

Kudos on the multiple cameras for a Varese piece !

Excellent recording!

Fantastic piece! Had to study it for my music degree in the 70s.

Susanna Mälkki has brought me here. I like her stile and her clothes and her way of leading this group. And I like the drummers, the percussion people. But I have to confess, I have it a little bit hard about that electric machine that now and then disturbes this concert. But Edgar wanted it this way . Brecht also wanted us not getting too envolved, to stop and think: "Wait, this is only a performance!"

Magnifique

Thank you.

"According to Varese, in order for the projection to yield a highly complex form, in other words, a cosmic distribution, what is necessary is a simple figure in motion and a plane that is itself mobile; otherwise, you get sound effects" Deleuze, Guattari- A Thousand Plateaus p.344

Superb!

Awesome 👌

Très bonne vidéo sur la ionisation de varese

Lovely.

Le documentaire passé récemment sur Arte m'a fait découvrir la personnalité hors-norme de Franck Zappa : Un gars à la fois lucide, libre et créatif. Rafraichissant par les temps qui courent... C'est en quelque sorte sur ses "conseils" que je découvre ce morceau de Varèse (et c'est balèze).

Gotta say. I'm gunna need a little more cowbell!

Merci la prof de musique

quels beaux rythmes. magnifique version.

I can very easily understand this being the piece of music that started Frank Zappa's interest in composing.

magnific

WOAAAAH😍😍

J'adore ce morceau emblématique de Varèse starter de la carrière musicale de Zappa.

Delícia, ver os instrumentos em uma filmagem tão boa dá muito mais prazer do que só escutar, parabéns!

Surprisingly catchy.

I had a chance to play this at UBC with the perc ensemble, such a gas to play! And hard as hell to keep your place.

Sussanna Mälkki is a brilliant conductor. Her Sibelius is fantastic!

Studied Varèse at Juilliard back in the 70s.

Nice performance. ps I also now know who has my Ludwig 'Coliseum' snare! Thanks for sharing!

surpuissant !!!

Écoute conseillée par un ami cher et c'est en cela qu'on reconnaît ces vrais amis ...

Ensemble Intercontemporain has always played the bizarre pieces they choose in a wonderful way, but THIS performance is easily one of my favorite recordings in the world. the conductor is very good, keeping pace with the strange meter, her movements large enough to be noted by the performers without seeming gratuitous or self-important. Fantastic performance, I watch it every couple months and am moved and impressed each time. Thank you for this performance!

art works of rhythms, frequencies and intensities

Guauuu que relaaaaxx

Amazing music, awesome performance.

assolutamente fantastico! avanti 200 anni.

it grooves

this piece was so good in Hannibal

Strong Character!

Wonderful! This piece is both an auditory and a visual delight!😀😀😀

the siren suggests urgency and carries with it a sense of disquiet!

very interesting

J'adore, tout simplement ! Rythme, scansion, pulsion et impulsion. Au commencement était l'action !

The Black Page, part 0 - the impossible version :)

An awesome performance👏👏👏👏👏

I had recognised Edgard Varese as an influence on Frank Zappa. This made me interested in trying to find a piece of his work to listen to. After repeating the name many times, I gave up on Alexa.

I love this piece!

Wow

Qui est là à cause de votre prof de musique ?

tres cool

Does this have anything to do with war?

"Threnody for Frank Zappa ". "She dances in the wind "by Tony villodas composer

I can definitely see the big influence in Frank Zappa's music. FZ had good taste. :)

Okay, this is the tightest and most civilized performance of this work I've seen on RU-vid, capturing far more of the spirit and accurate notes than the Boulez. Kudos to Ms. Mälkki. I'd love to work with you.

Wonderful. I have only ever heard the original Varese recording (i have a 1970's vinyl re-release) and it is very powerful to see young musicians playing this piece so well.

This ensemble absolutely NAILED this piece. They've played it at the exact tempo I like to hear it (not too languorous the way Boulez performs it - which is possibly more accurate - but not too fast like other recordings.)

Music starts about 1:07

Definitely will be a platinum album.

❤

Now listen to Zappa’s Black Page.

let's not forget that this work is dedicated to Nicolas Slonimski, who gave it its 1st performance in 1933 at Carnegie Hall & first recording on Columbia in 1934 (& that Slonimski guested on keyboards with Zappa when he was 83!)

Give me Varèse any day! I think, he was not only way ahead of his time but will still be contemporary in the 23rd Century.... (if humanity makes it that far 🤔).

Génial !!

I did my Master's recital on this stage.