Modernists

What good fortune that the American ensemble recorded this arrangement by Matt Marks (one of its founders) of The Beatles’ confounding “Revolution 9”. Who would have thought the electroacoustic collage could be interpreted by an instrumental ensemble? The result is magnificent and opens up a world of possibilities! The same treatment is then administered to Edgard Varèse’s “Poème électronique”! The Beatles’ piece alone is worth the detour, the Varèse is a bonus, and the other pieces, composed for the ensemble by Wolfgang Rihm, Charles Wuorinen, John Orfe, and Augusta Read Thomas, are all cherries on the cake.