Varèse and “informal music”: The example of Déserts

Abstract

This article considers the orchestral score of Varese’s Déserts on the basis of some
reflections on form and musical material developed by Adorno in the same period,
especially The ageing of the new music and Towards an informal music. The
analysis of the beginning of the score and of certain characteristic passages is
followed by a reflection on the articulation of a structure in which the principles of
juxtaposition and continuity go hand in hand. The expressive dimension within the
characteristic austerity of the late style of Varèse is interrogated by way of
conclusion.