An iconic figure and thought leader in the contemporary music landscape, avant-garde composer and peerless conductor Pierre Boulez left a lasting impact on twentieth-century music. Inspired by the work of his teachers Olivier Messiaen and René Leibowitz, Boulez strove to constantly experiment and push the boundaries of tradition. This tribute concert celebrating his 90th birthday was recorded by the Orchestre de Paris and the Ensemble intercontemporain—an ensemble he conducted for many years—and paints the portrait of a creative, limitless musician through a selection of his essential compositions.
In this second part of the program, Boulez reflects on several key composers working in the challenging post-war period, including Stockhausen, Ligeti, Kurtág and Dalbavien, commenting particularly on their aim to open their music up to other cultures, as well as the significant impact their work had on polyphony and rhythm. He also highlights his own work Notations in order to examine the evolution of his musical inspiration, from the birth of the ideas to their maturation a few decades later.
