Varese/Kraft

COMPOSERS: Varese/Kraft
LABELS: Decca Classic Sound
WORKS: Arcana; Intégrales; Ionisation; Concerto for Four Percussion Soloists & Orchestra; Contextures: Riots – Decade ’60
PERFORMER: Los Angeles Percussion Ensemble, Los Angeles PO/Zubin Mehta
CATALOGUE NO: 448 580-2 ADD (1972/69)

William Kraft’s Percussion Concerto and Contextures make a provocative coupling with three major scores by Edgard Varèse. Dedicated to Varèse himself, the Concerto sounds endearingly simple alongside the percussion and siren effects of Ionisation. Historically, Contextures: Riots – Decade ’60 is a memento of exciting times, though you’ll hardly be rushing to the barricades in consequence. True revolutionaries may prefer Arcana, a case, perhaps, of The Rite of Spring without the tunes, but still a cause worth fighting for, not least in this dry, punchy recording made in the full glory of another Sixties revolution: Decca’s full-frequency stereo sound. Nicholas Williams