A man of hugely eclectic tastes, Frank Zappa was a lover of everything from Doo-Wop to Heavy Metal and from Jazz-Funk to New Wave. Indeed a radio show he produced for the BBC in 1980 found him spinning records by artists as varied as Frankie Valli, Howlin’ Wolf, The Channels, Lene Lovich, Wild Man Fisher, UK Subs, Traffic and The Rolling Stones. On that same Sunday evening more than 30 years ago, Zappa also played records by Edgar Varese and Igor Stravinsky, representing his love of modern classical music.
Varese was one of Zappa’s very earliest influences and after discovering the dissonant sounds that this French born composer created, he was hooked on a genre of music that for most of us is anything but easy listening. But while an acquired taste the tracks that fill this 2 disc compilation may be, the acquisition of such a taste is a rewarding journey with an even more rewarding destination. Featuring nineteenth and twentieth century mavericks as diverse as Wagner, Holst, Ravel, Boulez, Stockhausen, Schoenberg, Penderecki, Harry Partch and John Cage – in addition to the aforementioned Stravinsky and Varese – this collection illustrates the impulse for many of Zappa’s own compositions and works as both an introduction to a style of music rarely heard outside of the most elite communities in the third millennium and as a guide to the music Frank Vincent took to his very heart and cherished throughout the major part of his tragically short life.
DISC 1
1. RICHARD WAGNER – The Ride of the Valkyries 2. IGOR STRAVINSKY – ‘Spring Rounds’ - The Rite of Spring 3. ANTON WEBERN – Bagatelle Opus 9 4. IGOR STRAVINSKY – ‘Royal March’ - A Soldier’s Tale 5. GUSTAV HOLST – ‘Jupiter’ - The Planets 6. EDGARD VARESE – Hyperprism 7. GEORGE ANTHEIL – Ballet Mecanique 8. MAURICE RAVEL – Bolero 9. ARNOLD SCHOENBERG – Begleitungsmusik Zu Einer Lichtspielszene Opus 34 10. SILVESTRE REVUELTAS – Sensemaya 11. JOHN CAGE – 4.33 12. CONLON NANCARROW – Study No. 11 13. PIERRE BOULEZ – First Movement (L’artisanat Furieux) of Le Marteau Sans Maitre
DISC TWO
HARRY PARTCH – US Highball – A Musical Account of a Transcontinental Hobo Trip
1. Part 1 2. Part 2 3. LUIGI NONO – Il Canto Sospeso (The Suspended Song) KARLHEINZ STOCKHAUSEN – Kontakte 4. Part 1 5. Part 2 OLIVIER MESSIAEN – Chronochromie 6. Part 1 7. Part 2 8. KRZYSZTOF PENDERECKI – Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima 9. BULENT AREL – Electronic Music No. 1