Amériques

Amériques is an orchestral composition by Edgard Varèse, scored for a very large, romantic orchestra with additional percussion (for eleven performers) including sirens.

[3] In recent years, it has emerged as a popular modernist showpiece in the orchestral repertoire, with recordings by Pierre Boulez, Christoph von Dohnanyi, Riccardo Chailly and Mariss Jansons, among others.

Although it opens quietly, with "Debussy-like musing",[4] it quickly builds in dynamic power and is punctuated by massive crescendos which are similar in style to those found in Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring but on a much larger scale.

Commentary on Amériques has focused on its elemental power,[5] and its vivid representation of New York City, not failing to incorporate its howling police car sirens.

Varèse intended the title Amériques to symbolize "discoveries – new worlds on earth, in the sky, or in the minds of men.