Varèse is arguably the greatest American composer of the century. It is Zappa-esque that the composer of our most innovative orchestral music is a Frenchman, though the composer, born in Paris in 1883, emigrated to the U.S. in 1915 and became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1926. The year Varèse died, Frank Zappa joined a rhythm-and-blues band called the Soul Giants and appended to it the logo “The Mothers of Invention.” Fifteen years later, having declared in an interview that classical music was only “for old ladies and faggots,” Zappa gave a worshipful lecture about Varèse in New York and staged, at his own expense, programs of Varèse’s music in New York and San Francisco. (read more)

Source: sdreader.com