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In 1918, Var猫se's entire back catalogue went up in flames in a warehouse fire 鈥� not exactly what most artists would consider a blessing, but for Var猫se, it was a creative catalyst of the most incendiary kind. During the First World War, the composer had been discharged from the French army through ill health. He headed west, dazed and broken, determined to make it new. But before he set sail, he put all his scores in storage. He wouldn鈥檛 be looking back.

Some newcomers take pictures of a city; Var猫se made an aural snapshot. Am茅riques was the first piece he wrote in New York, a love poem to the New World. He opened the doors of the concert hall to let in the noise of the streets. The piece begins idyllically enough, with a mellow alto flute spinning out the sound of home. But this is no prelude to any woodland faun: the lone flute summons the voice of an overwhelmed, overexcited immigrant. The Old world is totally subsumed into the new, and before long we鈥檙e pinned back by the sounds of honking foghorns, clanking railways and wailing sirens, which became a signature sound for Var猫se.

This brazen cacophony hit the world on 13 April 1926. Stokowski conducted the Philadelphia Orchestra in Carnegie Hall; a paradoxically traditional setting for a piece of such screeching modernity. The audience hated it. There were boos and catcalls. Critics declared it a riot 鈥� which was exactly the point. Modern life felt like a riot and Var猫se made it his business to embrace that. He said his goal was 鈥渢o blow wide open the musical world and let in sound 鈥� all sound.鈥�

This is one of 100 significant musical moments explored by 麻豆社 Radio 3鈥檚 Essential Classics as part of Our Classical Century, a 麻豆社 season celebrating a momentous 100 years in music from 1918 to 2018. Visit bbc.co.uk/ourclassicalcentury to watch and listen to all programmes in the season.

This archive recording is by the 麻豆社 Symphony Orchestra with conductor Sakari Oramo.

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