Tapping into the Twenties

The ASO’s first concert at the new David Geffen Hall focuses on music of composers who came of age in the 1920s. Chief among them was Edgard Varèse. Varèse’s symphonic poem Arcana (1925-27) explores the mysterious and powerful nature of the constellations above. Varèse took his inspiration for the work from topics of alchemy and astrology—in particular, from writings by 16th-century physician and practicing astrologer Paracelsus. Upon opening th...