Pierre Boulez (1925-2016)

[Karl Henning]

One shouldn't dare make a poll. It would be too incendiary...

Indeed.

And Boulez would have liked it that way . . . .

[kishnevi]

I have yet to crack his compositions: I probably have about 25 years or so left to me....I will wait a while yet. The shortest quote was the best, A Napoleon complex with a comb-over.

Mike

I like his later compositions much better: they are more obviously lyrical.  So work chronologically backward.

[knight66]

Jeffrey, A good idea, I will certainly try some of his pieces this week. Which late pieces would you suggest for starters?

Mike

[not edward]

I like his later compositions much better: they are more obviously lyrical.  So work chronologically backward.

I'm not Jeffrey, but I'd say that Rituel, the orchestral Notations and sur Incises are the obvious places to start with later Boulez. Maybe Repons too. I've never warmed to ...explosante-fixe... and think Derive 2 is thoroughly mediocre, but YMMV.

What I actually wanted to post here was a Boulez quote from Nicholas Kenyon's article in the Guardian: "Too much outer energy uses up inner energy," which seems to me to sum up just how his Mahler managed to be so electric despite its superficial caution. Though I do remember him being so animated conducting the finale of Mahler 6 that I swear he had both feet off the podium several times in the passage leading up to the second hammer-blow.

[James]

Jeffrey, A good idea, I will certainly try some of his pieces this week. Which late pieces would you suggest for starters?

Mike

Mike, as a long time follower of Boulez, I'd suggest ...explosante-fixe... pretty straight-forward and easy to grasp.

[asin]B0007404HI[/asin]

[Cato]

Mike, as I long time follower of Boulez, I'd suggest ...explosante-fixe... pretty straight-forward and easy to grasp.

[asin]B0007404HI[/asin]

Great work!  I usually played a part of it for my high-school European History students for the Music History section of the course, and it always got a reaction.

Good old Le Maitre is also a possibility: ignore whatever the booklet says, and just listen!  (You might also want to ignore the words until your second or third run-through.     )

[James]

Great work! 

Indeed, one of his bonafide masterpieces.

[knight66]

Thanks guys for the suggestions: I will give them a try.

Mike

[Mandryka]

Thanks guys for the suggestions: I will give them a try.

Mike

I have a strong intuition that you will enjoy Messagesquisse.

[JCBuckley]

I have a strong intuition that you will enjoy Messagesquisse.

That would be on my shortlist too, along with Le Marteau, Rituel, . . . explosante-fixe . . . and Sur incises

[ComposerOfAvantGarde]

I would recommend Dérive I as probably the best 'introduction' piece to Boulez's compositions. It's short and there are many good recordings of it on YouTube and on CD around. It provides a nice insight into his aesthetic in a concise way, and shows his approach to orchestration and serialism in a nutshell. This is a piece which is derived from Messagesquisse actually, notably making use of the same 6-note row which he explores further in this piece around the same time. Boulez's recording of it on DG is probably the 'go to' version, but this one is excellent too and highly recommended:

[knight66]

I have added five pieces to my playlist on Spotify, thanks, I will take time with them.

Mike

[James]

Mike, have you tried The 3 Piano Sonatas.. ? Great stuff .. but they will demand focused concentration & time depending on the level of exposure/experience you have with modern Art music. Stretch your ears & mind. Choice performances from the Boulez box on YT below ..

https://www.youtube.com/v/xmpvx16qGJUhttps://www.youtube.com/v/KbF2996shIU
No.1, Aimard - 1991                             No. 2, Maurizio Pollini - 1978

https://www.youtube.com/v/Lb-bqejWmPk
No. 3, Paavali Jumppanen - 2005

[ComposerOfAvantGarde]

Idil Biret also recorded a great disc of all three sonatas on Naxos.

[James]

Idil Biret also recorded a great disc of all three sonatas on Naxos.

Yes, I like that one too. She kicks butt. However, for the absolute best performance/recording for each individual one, I would suggest those linked above over all others.

[bhodges]

I would recommend Dérive I as probably the best 'introduction' piece to Boulez's compositions. It's short and there are many good recordings of it on YouTube and on CD around. It provides a nice insight into his aesthetic in a concise way, and shows his approach to orchestration and serialism in a nutshell.

I second this suggestion - mainly because it's short, and you can listen to it several times. Often giving a work repeated hearings helps. As an aside, when I was struggling with the music of Elliott Carter (which was a long time, actually), I decided to zero in on Esprit Rude/Esprit Doux (1985, flute and clarinet) simply because it's 5 minutes long, and I thought, "I'm going to play this over, and over - and over - until I get it." It worked.

But back to Boulez recommendations: I posted this in WAYLT but it's worth noting here, a spectacularly recorded version of Répons (1981-84, chamber ensemble and live electronics). This was performed last June at the new Paris Philharmonie, with the Ensemble Intercontemporain conducted by Matthias Pintscher. The audio and video quality are excellent.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQE5TYnD58k

--Bruce

[Joaquimhock]

[ComposerOfAvantGarde]

I just read this lovely article: http://soundcheck.wnyc.org/story/10-great-works-20th-century-pierre-boulezs-90th-birthday/

[North Star]

I just read this lovely article: http://soundcheck.wnyc.org/story/10-great-works-20th-century-pierre-boulezs-90th-birthday/

It has been posted, and discussed, before. It's mostly a nice list, although it inevitably ignores swathes of 20th century music.

[Karl Henning]

I just read this lovely article: http://soundcheck.wnyc.org/story/10-great-works-20th-century-pierre-boulezs-90th-birthday/

Thanks for sharing.