Smithsonian Folkways Archival — Sounds Of New Music (CD)

CD reissue of classic avant garde music collection originally released in 1957 by the Folkways Records / Including Edgard Varèse/ Henry Cowell/ and John Cage. Digipak/ Made in EU/ Pressed in 2007 / Sounds of New Music is a collection of 18 compositions from the 1920s to the mid-1950s representing attempts at a new means of musical expression. Some use familiar instruments in new ways, while others experiment with new instruments; the formats of the compositions range from structured musical scores written for orchestra to electronically altered music using tape-recording devices. Composers include Edgard Varese, Henry Cowell, and John Cage, whose Dance is played on a transformed Steinway piano that gives the music an almost primitive quality. Liner notes describing the new music feature a substantial article on Concrete Music.