Poème électronique

work by Varèse

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July 1, 2026

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Poème électronique was a groundbreaking work by composer Edgard Varèse, created for the Philips Pavilion at the 1958 Brussels World's Fair. This piece is a significant example of electronic music and utilized musique concrète, a technique involving the manipulation of recorded sounds. Varèse aimed to create a "body of sound in space," distributing the sound through 425 loudspeakers within the pavilion. The composition explored new sonic possibilities by using electronic sound sources and tape manipulation, marking a pivotal moment in the development of electronic music.1234

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Edgard Varèse
In the Poème électronique (1958), written for the Philips Pavilion at the Brussels World’s Fair, the sound was intended to be distributed by 425 loudspeakers.
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In the Poème électronique (1958), written for the Philips Pavilion at the Brussels World’s Fair, the sound was intended to be distributed by 425 loudspeakers.
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music recording
Composition
…tape, such as Edgard Varèse’s Poème électronique, an 11-channel tape played through 425 speakers at the 1958 Brussels World Fair, and Morton Subotnick’s Silver Apples of the Moon (1967), an electronic work playable only as a recording.
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…tape, such as Edgard Varèse’s Poème électronique, an 11-channel tape played through 425 speakers at the 1958 Brussels World Fair, and Morton Subotnick’s Silver Apples of the Moon (1967), an electronic work playable only as a recording.
Read More