"You don't become a painter by looking at a landscape but by looking at a painting," said André Malraux. "And that is perfectly true: you become a musician because you have looked at music, studied composers, which makes it possible to deduce a number of things and to see the real consequences of the gesture of the composer who preceded you."
That's how Pierre Boulez starts his "lesson" at the Cité de la Musique in November 1999 before a class of young people who are not specialists. He explains to them in simple words, the hidden architecture of his work Sur Incises by taking it apart as one would take a motor apart. Combining musical gestures with pedagogical words, he conducts the nine soloists of the Ensemble Intercontemporain (three pianists, three percussionists and three harp players) who, with obvious pleasure, add their precious contribution to understanding the musical score.
Full of humour, using images while remaining precise, Pierre Boulez untangles the complexity of this piece. In the end we almost feel intelligent, which gives an idea of the talent of Pierre Boulez.
