Pierre Boulez (1925-2016)

[Cosi bel do]

The Philharmonie is a huge, organic structure rising up in the Parc de la Villette, the arts and science park built just inside the boulevard périphérique on the site of the old Paris meat market and abattoirs. It is the latest and, sadly, possibly the last major manifestation of the energy and willpower of Pierre Boulez, composer, conductor and the godfather of music in France. For more than half a century, Boulez has used his influence to get concert halls built, ensembles founded and music research centres established. At 89, he is now in poor health, but his spirit is everywhere throughout this project. The neighbouring Cité de la Musique (which will come under the management of the Philharmonie and will be renamed Philharmonie 2) opened in 1995 and realised Boulez's dream for a flexible concert hall fit for the 21st century: wired for electronic sound, capable of changing shape and layout to accommodate contemporary works such as his own spatial masterpiece, Repons, and incorporating a museum and education spaces. But, with 900 seats, the Cité was too small for big symphony orchestras, and Boulez was soon planning a bigger version.

http://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/dec/12/tale-of-two-cites-philharmonie-de-paris-social-divide#img-4

http://www.philharmoniedeparis.fr/fr.

If I may, the project dates back to when Mitterrand cam to power in 1981 (Boulez was among his supports from the arts milieu). The original project was to build in La Villette 3 classical music venues : an opera hall, an big concert hall and a smaller one, and the new Conservatoire. In the end, the new opera was built at La Bastille (and a concert hall was also planned there but never completed, only the doors exist until today, and it has been converted in a rehearsal venue), and only the Conservatoire and the smaller concert hall, plus a very tiny one, and a museum of instruments, were built in La Villette (with Portzamparc as architect, one of the sore losers of La Bastille).
Then Pleyel was renovated in the 2000s, and frankly nobody really thought a new concert hall was needed. But more than Boulez, it is Laurent Bayle, who manages the (public owned) Cité de la musique who succeeded in putting this project on the political agenda, even if there was clearly not a lack of venues in Paris (in fact, to ensure the success of the Philharmonie, Pleyel shall be rented for a long term lease by la Cité de la musique who owns it, but with a clause excluding all classical concerts, which is the subject of a current judicial procedure).

This project is a very complex story involving politicians, artists, the architect (Jean Nouvel), and it has been the subject of an excellent article by the famous(ish) journalist Claude Askolovitch in the French edition of Vanity Fair, a very nicely written piece that makes it look like a 21st volume to Zola's Rougon-Macquart saga. Read it (and try Google translate if needed), it is really good.

http://www.vanityfair.fr/actualites/france/articles/symphonie-inacheve-le-chantier-de-la-philharmonie-de-paris-qui-les-rend-tous-fous/14613

For the moment, bookings are really dramatically low. There are special offers and reduced prices on almost all concerts, and all categories. It is more and more certain than most concerts there will be more than half empty, and the Mayor of Paris has clearly demanded that there is less classical music and more pop and "urban" (hip-hop) music there (La Villette being also the place where "Le Zénith" stands, the biggest pop music venue in the Paris area), just as they already transformed Le Châtelet (owned by the city) in a place for Broadway-inspired musicals, instead of the ballet and opera productions one could see there in the 90s. The story isn't finished...

[Cosi bel do]

It is a very beautiful venue ..

Well, let's wait for it to open before (positive or negative) feedback

[Cosi bel do]

Yes, I know, but it is still difficult to get the true definitive impression. For instance, I find that on these latest photos it seems more like a shoebox hall than I would have thought on the virtual designs.

[Ken B]

I still think it looks outstanding.

James,
I'm thinking that you can justify spending public funds on it if there really are great works, but it's hard to justify if you think art is just a sham....

[ritter]

I do hope this project is a success..should there be any problems with the plumbing, the electrical wiring or whatever, we all know who's going to get all the blame....that's right: P.B.! 

[snyprrr]

The Philharmonie is a huge, organic structure rising up in the Parc de la Villette, the arts and science park built just inside the boulevard périphérique on the site of the old Paris meat market and abattoirs. It is the latest and, sadly, possibly the last major manifestation of the energy and willpower of Pierre Boulez, composer, conductor and the godfather of music in France. For more than half a century, Boulez has used his influence to get concert halls built, ensembles founded and music research centres established. At 89, he is now in poor health, but his spirit is everywhere throughout this project. The neighbouring Cité de la Musique (which will come under the management of the Philharmonie and will be renamed Philharmonie 2) opened in 1995 and realised Boulez's dream for a flexible concert hall fit for the 21st century: wired for electronic sound, capable of changing shape and layout to accommodate contemporary works such as his own spatial masterpiece, Repons, and incorporating a museum and education spaces. But, with 900 seats, the Cité was too small for big symphony orchestras, and Boulez was soon planning a bigger version.

http://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/dec/12/tale-of-two-cites-philharmonie-de-paris-social-divide#img-4

http://www.philharmoniedeparis.fr/fr.

"Let us  build a great auditorium, und zen ve vil flood our country with third virld muslims so ze kanst liebe our avant garde"

[ritter]

The upcoming DG Boulez looks good ..

Looks very attractive (but in this case, I own 100% of its contents    )...

For those interested, it's on pre-order in Italy (the usual page  ) at €90....

[kishnevi]

For S&G value only
..http://www.good-music-guide.com/community/index.php/topic,19487.msg855216.html#msg855216

[Mandryka]

Good find, James, that seems less hard sounding than the DG recording, and maybe more flowing. I enjoyed it more. Thanks.

[Mandryka]

People in Europe will no doubt be thrilled to know that Boulez's first recording of Pierrot Lunaire, originally on Adès and with Maria Bergmann, is now available from Bibliothèque Nationale de France. Better than his other Pierrots IMO. As far as I know it hasn't been released in the States.

And members of symphonyshare who like Pierrot will be pleased to know thay Robert Craft's first recording for Columbia, with Bethany Beardslee, is now available on mp3. An outstanding performance in every way.

[ritter]

People in Europe will no doubt be thrilled to know that Boulez's first recording of Pierrot Lunaire, originally on Adès and with Maria Bergmann, is now available from Bibliothèque Nationale de France. Better than his other Pierrots IMO. As far as I know it hasn't been released in the States.

And members of symphonyshare who like Pierrot will be pleased to know thay Robert Craft's first recording for Columbia, with Bethany Beardslee, is now available on mp3. An outstanding performance in every way.

Thanks for the information, Mandryka! For those in America, if it's of any help, just let you know that that first Boulez Pierrot had been issued in this set...

[asin]B000CRQZNM[/asin]

...and was once again made available (in 2014) by Wergo:

[asin]B00JXZF5E4[/asin]

I must relisten to it (I've listened more to the Christine Schäfer recording on CD; I saw her live here in Madrid--under Cambreling--and she was superb!).

Let's hope we get a Robert Craft Original Jacket collection on Sony sometime soon! 

[ritter]

Yet another label joins the 90th birthday celebrations of PB:


Pierre Boulez: The Complete Erato Recordings (14 CDs)

announced in France and Japan for February / March...

[7/4]

Yet another label joins the 90th birthday celebrations of PB:


Pierre Boulez: The Complete Erato Recordings (14 CDs)

announced in France and Japan for February / March...

I'd like a copy of that box. This is all his music, instead of him conducting performances of other composers work, right?

[petrarch]

I'd like a copy of that box. This is all his music, instead of him conducting performances of other composers work, right?

According to this, it isn't:

https://groups.google.com/d/msg/rec.music.classical.recordings/CcOoK4gJ6zE/lsGkut898QEJ

The last few CDs on the box seem to match this (very worthwhile) one:

[asin]B000005EDT[/asin]

[not edward]

I'd like a copy of that box. This is all his music, instead of him conducting performances of other composers work, right?

It's mostly Boulez as conductor rather than as composer--including some recordings that don't feature him at all--and most of what's there has had wide circulation already.

I found this listing, which looks similar to the one petrarch posted:

[CD1] Stravinsky: Pulcinella; Song of the Nightingale
[CD2] Stravinsky: Nightingale; Four Russian Songs; 3 Pieces for String Quartet; Madrid; Four Etudes for Orchestra
[CD3] Stravinsky: Soldier's Tale; Concertino
[CD4] Schoenberg: Pelleas et Melisande; Variations for Orchestra
[CD5] Schoenberg: Violin Concerto; Piano Concerto
[CD6] Messiaen: Et exspecto resurrectionem mortuorum; Couleurs de la Cite Celeste
[CD7] Berio: Sinfonia; Eindrucke; Xenakis: Jalons
[CD8] Donatoni: Tema, Cadeau; Ligeti: Etudes, Book 1; Horn Trio
[CD9] Kurtag: Messages of the Late Mrs R.V.Troussova; Birtwistle: ...agm...; Grisey: Modulations
[CD10] Carter: Oboe Concerto; Esprit rude/esprit doux; A Mirror on Which to Dwell; Penthode
[CD11] Dufourt: Antiphysis; Ferneyhough: Funerailles I & II; Harvey: Mortuos plango, Vivos voco; Holler: Arcus
[CD12] Boulez: Pli selon pli
[CD13] Boulez: La visage nuptial; Le soleil des eaux; Figures, Doubles, Prismes
[CD14] Boulez: Sonatina, Piano Sonata No 1, Memorial, Dialogue de l'ombre double; cummings ist der Dichter

[7/4]

Ah...if I have the last three, I don't need a box!

[ritter]

Just seen this one too .. which brings together the 2 previous Le Domaine Musical boxes into 1.

[asin]B00QXJAKQQ[/asin]

Something didn't add up, as the previous Domaine Musical boxes, combined, amounted to 9 CDs (including the bonus CD in box 1, Boulez's first recording of Le Marteau with Marie-Thérèse Cahn and the interview with Boulez by Claude Samuel). This set's 10th CD includes the Canzoni 3 & 5 from the Sacrae Symphoniae of Gabrieli, and Stravinsky's Symphonies of Wind Instruments, all conducted by Rudolf Albert, and Boulez himself conducting Jean-Claude Eloy's Equivalances...

http://musique.fnac.com/a7948091/Divers-Le-domaine-musical-10-CD-Capbox-Tirage-Limite-CD-album#ficheResume

[Abuelo Igor]

This is actually the most interesting for me in all the recent spate of Boulez box sets, as I don't own a single CD of the whole lot. I might get the Erato one, though, despite the repeats, as it includes some Stravinsky recordings I've been desperate to find for a long time.

[Ken B]

"Open"? Nonsense on stilts.

[Karl Henning]

Ah, the Glory Days ... when turd in the punchbowl was a Career Path!