Edgar Varèse (Les Grandes Répétitions, 1967)

With Marcel Duchamp, Iannis Xenakis, Olivier Messiaen, Hermann Scherchen, André Jolivet, Pierre Schaeffer, Pierre Boulez, Konstantin Simonovic, Bruno Maderna, Ferdnand Ouellette, and the voice of Varèse. “Deserts” in rehearsal with Domaine Musicale Orchestra conducted by Bruno Maderna. “Ionisation” (complete) with Ensemble Instrumentale de Musique Contemporaine de Paris conducted by Konstantin Simonovic Hommage à Edgard Varèse became a tribute to Varèse, who died shortly before filming began. A distinguished group of friends and colleagues speak of Varèse, along with spoken comments from Varèse himself. Simonovic conducts a complete Ionisation in a fascinating “period” performance and Bruno Maderna directs an illuminating rehearsal of Déserts as Marcel Duchamp listens and comments from New York City. Between 1965-68, composer Luc Ferrari collaborated with director Gérard Patris on a series of filmed intimate portraits of great musicians, “Les Grandes Répétitions” (The Great Rehearsals), which were broadcast on French TV. They are remarkable not only for their exceptional content, but also for their creative, dynamic camera work and playful juxtaposition of music and talk. Truly unique and enjoyable period documents.