Pierre Boulez (1925-2016)

[Uhor]

I feel we'd be happy if another self-assured angsty youngster perfect ears came up and shook things a little again.

[Mahlerian]

Notations is a magnificent riot of color and rhythm.  My hope is that in the near future it becomes standard repertoire.

[Ainsi la nuit]

Notations is a magnificent riot of color and rhythm.  My hope is that in the near future it becomes standard repertoire.

Fully agreed! It's a stunning work, and very accessible as well. I bet a lot of people would enjoy it, if orchestras were to perform it regularly.

I find it unacceptable when people claim that Boulez didn't care about the listeners or the reception of his music. He did - very much actually. I recently read an interview in which he stated his admiration for interpreters like Pollini, who play his music with almost romantic passion and intense expression.

[bhodges]

On Tuesday, 4 September, the Ensemble Intercontemporain and Matthias Pintscher will play Berg, Webern, and Boulez 'Le Marteau sans maître.' Concert will be broadcast live.

http://www.ensembleinter.com/fr/concert-1113-Marteau-sans-maitre.html

--Bruce

[ritter]

On Tuesday, 4 September, the Ensemble Intercontemporain and Matthias Pintscher will play Berg, Webern, and Boulez 'Le Marteau sans maître.' Concert will be broadcast live.

http://www.ensembleinter.com/fr/concert-1113-Marteau-sans-maitre.html

--Bruce

Thanks for the heads-up, Bruce. I didn't know the concert will be broadcast.

This concert is actually part of the first "Biennale Pierre Boulez", a joint initiative of the Philharmonie de Paris and Daniel Barenboim. 10 concerts are scheduled from September 3 through 8, with music by Boulez or composers he admired (Debussy, Stravinsky...), "exotic" influences (the imperial Gagaku), young and rising composers, and—of particular interest—the world premiere of an early work for piano, Prélude, Toccata et Scherzo, released from Boulez's manuscripts held by the Paul Sacher Foundarion. Our sorely missed fellow GMGer Jessop alerted us about this some months ago.

Full information here.

[bhodges]

And thanks for that additional info! (I wonder if they are planning to broadcast the others?)

In any case, missed Jessop's comment first time around, so appreciate your reviving it.

--Bruce

[ritter]

A new recording of Le marteau sans maître will be released in a couple of days:

[asin]B07HBHZ5R9[/asin]

Comments by the performers, ONIX Ensamble from Mexico:

"When we decided to prepare a performance of Pierre Boulez's The Hammer with no Master, we knew that we were facing a great challenge: a work of great technical and artistic complexity. What we present in this album is our live version, which we believe constitutes an original and truly Latin American interpretation. It was recorded in the year 2005, and since then it was put away, because we couldnt find the pieces that could accompany such monumentality, and its thirty-five minutes were not enough to complete a record project by itself. It was not until recently that ONIX decided to release this version, accompanied by also live performances of works by composers Maki Ishii and Elliott Carter, whose interpretive and compositional contribution was similar, both aesthetically and conceptually. Hard Core requires very strong instrumental skills, not only in the technical aspects for each individual player, but in terms of ensemble work. The recording is a challenge for the listener as well: hard core listening- necessary to appreciate and enjoy the innumerable contours of a sound reef full of details and complex refinements in timbre, dynamics, rhythms and harmony".

[shirime]

Man, this piece is really getting a hell of a lot of performances and recordings lately! Sooner or later I will find it too hard to keep up.........I want them all! I have most of them so far (including all of Boulez's own recordings).............

[JBS]

Man, this piece is really getting a hell of a lot of performances and recordings lately! Sooner or later I will find it too hard to keep up.........I want them all! I have most of them so far (including all of Boulez's own recordings).............

I have two recordings of MsM with Boulez and one without. It is the one without him (Percussions de Strasbourg) that I responded to best. I can not say I actual like the work. (Basically the later the work in his career, the more I like it.)
I wishlisted this, although it is the Carter I would by it for. I don't think I have heard that piece before. (Ishii is unknown to me.)

[ritter]

Man, this piece is really getting a hell of a lot of performances and recordings lately! Sooner or later I will find it too hard to keep up.........I want them all! I have most of them so far (including all of Boulez's own recordings).............

Good to see ou back on GMG!   

BTW, I think I own all recordings of Le marteau sans maître that have been commercially released on CD . Six conducted by the composer (as listed here), and another six—one of them fragmentary—under other conductors (as listed here). Only the DVD of excerpts under Rattle is missing from my collection.

I have two recordings of MsM with Boulez and one without. It is the one without him (Percussions de Strasbourg) that I responded to best.

AFAIK, the recording of Le marteau... included in the Percussions de Strasbourg box is in fact led by Boulez, as it's the same as this one (i.e. the second recording from the Domaine Muiscal, with Jeanne Deroubaix as vocal soloist):



The percussionists in the recording (van Gucht on xylorimba, Ricou on vibraphone and Batigne on unpitched percussion) were members of the Strasbourg group, the other instrumentalists (e.g. Gazzelloni on flute) were regular collaborators at the Domaine concerts.

I wishlisted this, although it is the Carter I would by it for. I don't think I have heard that piece before. (Ishii is unknown to me.)

I too am interested in this "Latin" take on Le marteau..., but it still appears as unavailable in the European sites. The Carter work I know from a recording by Thomas Demenga et al. on ECM (coupled with Bach suites for cello), but haven't listened to it for years. Ishii is a new name to me as well.

THREAD DUTY:

There's a new DVD of a documentary on Boulez (plus performances of two Stravinsky works with the LSO conducted by him) announced for mid November:



The blurb from presto:

Pierre Boulez was one of the most radical composers of our time. "He has produced a catalogue of wondrously luminous and scintillating works. Within them a rigorous compositional skill is coupled to an imagination of extraordinary aural refinement", so the British composer George Benjamin spoke of Boulez. Director Reiner Moritz, who worked closely with Boulez time and again through the years and almost had a friendly relationship with composer, tries to get as close to the real Boulez as one can possibly get in this documentary. He evolves an intimate portrait about the worldwide renowned and influential avant-gardist by means of the younger brother Roger, who told a lot about Pierre's childhood and youth and provided us with photographs from the Boulez-Chevalier archives as well as interviews with other contemporaries like the famous pianist and close friend Daniel Barenboim and the Hungarian composer Peter Eötvös. Excerpts of his own music and exemplary performances of Bruckner, Mahler, Mozart and Stravinsky complete the 98-minute documentary about Pierre Boulez, who died at the age of 90 in 2016.

The rhythmic complexities of the Sacre du printemps are notorious but, in the hands of a master of modern music and one of the world's top orchestras, the London Symphony Orchestra, the elemental barbarism of the music is thrilling. Boulez's definitive reading of Stravinsky's masterpiece was recorded live from the Alte Oper Frankfurt, in a performance specially staged for the cameras. The programme includes a short interview with the conductor about this landmark work as well as a performance of Stravinsky's Symphonies of Wind Instruments, another most interesting work of the composer.

Format: DVD2

Running time: 98 mins & 58 mins (concert)

Region: 0

I find the bit about director Reiner Moritz having "almost had a friendly relationship with [the] composer" rather amusing, but quite in character, given the elusive private side of Boulez's persona. 

[ritter]

This recent exchange in the WAYLTN thread might be useful here:

Le Soleil des eaux, final revision 1965.

From CD3 of the Boulez box set

[asin]B00BLDHPZS[/asin]

Beautiful

Indeed, a wonderful work. I've had the chance to see it live twice (once conducted by the composer in London in the mid-90s, and then some 10 years ago here in Madrid), and it makes a great impression.

I hope that Boulez's original version, from 1948, is recovered some time soon. It was completely different AFAIK, as it was incidental music to René Char's radio  play of the same title. The cantata, such as we know it, uses poems which actually are not from Le soleil des eaux, but rather from Char's collections Fureur et mystère and Les matinaux. I presume a recording of the original broadcast should be in the archives of the ORTF or the Institut National de l'Audioviduel.

Char's radio play was published in 1949 in a lavish edition illustrated by Georges Braque:



Unfortunately, since AFAIK all 200 copies issued are signed both by the poet and the painter, they cost a small fortune...
...

... AFAIK it has been revised three times since the original 1948 version. An excellent short introduction to it is also to be found in the Ircam database http://brahms.ircam.fr/works/work/6982/

That's a most interesting article....

So, we have all three versions of the cantata available on CD (i.e., Soleil des eaux 2, 3 & 4, as the IRCAM article names them), and only the original incidental music version remains unavailable.

Soleil des eaux "2":
[asin]B00005M0QU[/asin]
Soleil des eaux "3":


Soleil des eaux "4":

This is the recording included in the "Oeuvres Complètes" box on DG.

It must be noted that the INA disc shown above is a recording of the first performance of Le Soleil des eaux "2". The back cover mistakenly mentions that there's a chorus, when in fact this version of the cantata is for soprano, tenor and baritone solos, and chamber orchestra (without chorus). A 3-part—S,T,B—chorus is introduced in the 1958 Soleil des eaux "3" (keeping as well the lineup of three vocal soloists),  and in the final 1965 "4" version, the tenor and baritone soloists are no longer present (only the soprano soloist remains, along with a 4-part—S,A,T,B—chorus).

[ritter]

This article form the NYT is a couple of months old, but somehow I missed. In it,  Seth Colter Walls talks to Dutch pianist Ralph van Raat, who in September 2018 gave the world premiere of Boulez's early (it's from 1944, when the composer was 19) and unpublished 20-minute piano compostion Prélude, Toccata et Scherzo. He later played the piece in his Carnegie Hall debut in October 2018, and is slated to record it for Naxos next year. The article contains 1-minute snippets of each of the work's movements. An interesting insight into "pre-Boulez Boulez".

[vers la flamme]

Just wanted to check in to this thread, as over the past month and a half or so, Pierre Boulez became a composer whose music I admire, appreciate, and, most of all, greatly enjoy. A couple of months ago I never could have said the same. I can't believe how much his music has grown on me, and I can't say I'm always receptive to it, but when I am, some of this stuff completely blows my mind.

My favorite works of his are Répons, Pli selon pli, and the 3 piano sonatas. I have a recording of Le Marteau sans maître, but I can't say that this work has clicked with me yet. I need to get into more of his music.

This is a phenomenal performance:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIlfuf2wUok

... but I can't seem to find this recording on CD. I was hoping that maestro Honeck had recorded this Notations other than this video, as he's done a surprisingly great job with it, but alas. Has Matthias Pintscher recorded any of Boulez's works to disc? His performances on Youtube with the Ensemble Intercontemporain of various Boulez works are always incredible.

If anyone wants to show me other great works of his I'm missing out on, please feel free!

Anyone else been listening to Boulez lately? I'm happy to see that this thread has been so active over the years!

[ritter]

Just wanted to check in to this thread, as over the past month and a half or so, Pierre Boulez became a composer whose music I admire, appreciate, and, most of all, greatly enjoy. A couple of months ago I never could have said the same. I can't believe how much his music has grown on me, and I can't say I'm always receptive to it, but when I am, some of this stuff completely blows my mind.

My favorite works of his are Répons, Pli selon pli, and the 3 piano sonatas. I have a recording of Le Marteau sans maître, but I can't say that this work has clicked with me yet. I need to get into more of his music.

This is a phenomenal performance:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIlfuf2wUok

... but I can't seem to find this recording on CD. I was hoping that maestro Honeck had recorded this Notations other than this video, as he's done a surprisingly great job with it, but alas. Has Matthias Pintscher recorded any of Boulez's works to disc? His performances on Youtube with the Ensemble Intercontemporain of various Boulez works are always incredible.

If anyone wants to show me other great works of his I'm missing out on, please feel free!

Anyone else been listening to Boulez lately? I'm happy to see that this thread has been so active over the years!

Very nice post, vers la flamme.  Great to see a fellow GMGer enjoying the music of Boulez (one of my very favourite composers). And you've nicely described it: this is music that elicits admiration, appreciation and, most importantly, enjoyment (once one has penetrated its sound world).

AFAIK, neither Honeck nor Pintscher have committed PB's music to disc, which is a pity. I presume some time will have to elapse before the composer's own recordings are complemented by those of other artists. Hopefully  we'll see some new releases for the composer's centennial in 2025.

You mention some great works in your post, Répons and (particularly) Pli selon pli being pieces I find fundamental and of a deep, intriguing beauty. I would urge you to give Le marteau... another try, as it too is a breathtaking composition. And, I would recommend you listen to both the Dérive pieces, and to Mémoriale. Late Boulez at the top of his game. This CD is a good introduction to Dérive 2-–the more ambitious of both Dérives—and to Mémoriale, and includes some other interesting renditions of Boulez works:

[asin]B01MZAVQGM[/asin]
But, of course, the "Complete Works" box on DG is essential if you really want to explore the composer.

EDIT (cross-posted from the WAYLTN thread):

A great CD of Boulez sans Boulez:

[asin]B006CC9GW8[/asin]
Daniel Kawka conducts the Ensemble Orchestral Contemporain in Mémoriale, Dérive 1 and Dérive 2. I saw the same performers doing these same pieces live in concert some 10 years ago, and it was a memorable occasion. The concert was held at the chamber room of the National Auditorium here in Madrid. After it finished, most of those in attendance walked to the adjacent symphony hall, where we were greeted in the foyer by the fanfare Initiale, and we then attended a concert with the Spanish  National Orchestra under Jordi Bernácer giving us Le soleil des eaux, Rituel and the orchestral Notations (plus the original piano Douze notations played by Dimitri Vassilakis). A wonderful "Boulezathon". 

[vers la flamme]

Thanks for the recommendations! I'll have to check out that Barenboim disc. I know Barenboim admired Boulez a lot and they've worked together several times in the past. I have an LP somewhere of Boulez conducting the Bartók piano concerti with young Barenboim as soloist.

I have the DG disc of Boulez conducting his Le Marteau sans maître, which includes the two Dérives, so I'll have to give those another listen. I have heard the entire disc but nothing has left too much of a mark on me just yet, at least not like Pli selon pli and Répons have. Still, despite my growing appreciation with his sound world, his music is not always easy by any means. But this sometimes challenging nature only contributes to the richness of his music.

But, of course, the "Complete Works" box on DG is essential if you really want to explore the composer.

It looks excellent, but alas very expensive these days. I believe you're probably right though. I'm sure there are works on there that have never been otherwise recorded.

[ritter]

...
I have the DG disc of Boulez conducting his Le Marteau sans maître, which includes the two Dérives, so I'll have to give those another listen
....

That is a good disc, but be aware that Dérive 2 such as it appears there is only an intermediary version (lasting some 24'). The final, revised and "complete" piece is twice as long, is far more satisfactory and cohesive IMHO, and can be found in the two discs I mention in my post above, as well as in the "Complete Works" set (with the composer conducting the Ensemble Modern).

Cheers,

[vers la flamme]

That is a good disc, but be aware that Dérive 2 such as it appears there is only an intermediary version (lasting some 24'). The final, revised and "complete" piece is twice as long, is far more satisfactory and cohesive IMHO, and can be found in the two discs I mention in my post above, as well as in the "Complete Works" set (with the composer conducting the Ensemble Modern).

Cheers,

Nice! I didn't know that. Definitely putting that Barenboim on the list. Looks great.

[ritter]

The AFAIK first (or at least, first major) biography of Pierre Boulez to be written after his death will be released--in French--by Fayard on October 2:

[asin]2213704929[/asin]

This is the publisher's blurb (originally in French):

"Adored or hated, Pierre Boulez spent his life dividing minds into two irreconcilable camps. A visionary and spearhead of modernity for some, a dictator who imposed a single aesthetic by reign terror for others, few artists have polarized and even hysterized the French musical life so much. And this since  immediately after the war, when he gave himself the mission to introduce the avant-garde in a France he deemed retrograde and ossified at the time. He was an extraordinary musician, at the same time creator, performer, intellectual and man of action, to the point of sometimes giving the impression of leading several lives in one.

Three years after his death, it was time to return serenely to the nine decades of this multiple existence: the composer, the conductor, the thinker, the founder of institutions are assessed in this biography, for which hitherto unpublished archives were accessed. We enter the scenes of his battles (the Domaine Musical, IRCAM, the Ensemble Intercontemporain, Opéra Bastille, the Cité de la Musique, the Philharmonie de Paris). We see him renewing the technique and function of the conductor, while extending his influence on cultural policy. We follow him to every continent, in the greatest halls and the most prestigious festivals. We also try to give an introduction to his music, which does not fully reveal itself in a single listening. But above all, this book has set itself the goal of better understanding the complex and secret personality of the man who has worked hard to erase his tracks, resolutely maintaining an unusual gap between his public image of a cerebral sectarian, and the generous, emotional and hypersensitive private man."

Author Christian Merlin (born 1964 - Wikipedia article) has several books on music (mainly opera) to his credit. From what I see, I would expect this to be a "conventional" biography of Boulez , rather than a musicological treatise. Interestingly, publishers Fayard also have one of the standard books on Boulez in their catalogue, written by Dominque Jamieux. This earlier book stops in the mid-80s and is rather technical, making it less accessible to the general public.

[ritter]

Cross-posted from the New Releases thread:

A new recording of Boulez's Le marteau sans maître to be launched by col legno in March:


The forces involved are the Einsemble Orchestral Contemporain led by Daniel Kawka, with mezzo-soprano Salomé Haller. The filler is Philippe Manoury's B-Partita (in memoriam Pierre Boulez), for violin, ensemble and electronics. It's a 23 minute piece from 2016.

Here's the promotional blurb:

"Pierre Boulez' Le Marteau sans maître is one of the essential compositions of the 20th century. Now, for the first time, this masterpiece appears on the same record as B-Partita, a tribute of French composer Philippe Manoury's (*1952) to Boulez. Basing his music on texts by René Char, Boulez (1925-2016) vacillated between extremes: Celestial sounds are contrasted with pulsing rhythms. Free-flowing passages meet rigid meters. Sung passages follow purely instrumental writing. The music is ever changing, but the goal of its metamorphosis remains constant and discernable. With the particular instrumentation, which aims at the gradual deconstruction of a singing voice into percussive elements (a style Boulez would come back to for the rest of his career), the young, 30-year old Boulez was coming into his own as a composer. Manoury's B-Partita, meanwhile, sees itself as a sympathetic homage to precisely that, Boulez', musical language".

Kawka's CD of Dérive I, Dérive II and Mémoriale on Naïve is superb, so this should be an interesting release

A list of recordings of Le marteau... not conducted by the composer is available here, and of those led by Boulez himself here.

[vers la flamme]

^Looks promising! I have been meaning to get my hands on some Boulez sans Boulez. In the case of his piano music, for instance, the music varies soo much depending on who is playing, and I bet that his other instrumental music is just as rewarding to varying interpretation.