Pierre Boulez, RIP

[Beef Oven!]

Apart from performances of his own works, and those of Webern, my fondest memories are of his Mahler with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, especially the 5th and 8th. When it came to Stravinsky, with the exception of his party-piece, Le Chant du Rossignol, and the full Le Rossignol, I must admit to coming away somewhat disappointed, much as I did re. his Messiaen performances in the latter decades of his life, though his performances of his teacher's work in the '60s and '70s were magnificent. I still recall the eager anticipation with which I awaited delivery of the CBS LP of Et exspecto resurrectionem mortuorum and Couleurs de la Cité Celeste when it came out. I had previously only heard the former via a Third Programme broadcast by the BBCSO under Antal Dorati, which paled in to insignificance compared to what Boulez achieved with the Groupe instumental a percussion de Strasbourg and the Orchestre du domaine musical, the first recording I ever ordered in advance of its release.

His own compositions are a treasure trove to which I return again and again, and that includes what we have of the three piano sonatas.

Bryn, what do you think of his DG Et exspecto resurrectionem mortuorum?

[Bella Kemp]

Very sad news. His was such a refreshing presence - and one of the very few conductors whose performances generated real excitement. I've just been revisiting clips of Bejart+Boulez = ballet on youtube. Alas, the sound and visual quality is not good but one still senses that extraordinary energy. R.I.P.

[Flay]

It's very possible that going to that concert persuaded her that I was worth persevering with. Said girlfriend has been Mrs LMP since 1977 so if so, many thanks, PB

Lovely story

Sad news, but a full and fruitful life

[Bryn]

Bryn, what do you think of his DG Et exspecto resurrectionem mortuorum?

He does not give sounds anything like enough time to decay. The triple tam-tam strokes of the the fourth movement suffer especially. I recall the marking jusqu'à l'extinction du son being associated with those "three mysterious beats, three resonances ... ". In that Cleveland recording he simply presses on, where in the earlier Erato/Radio France recording issued on CBS in the U.K., the dying away is observed in the spirit called for.

[Beef Oven!]

He does not give sounds anything like enough time to decay. The triple tam-tam strokes of the the fourth movement suffer especially. I recall the marking jusqu'à l'extinction du son being associated with those "three mysterious beats, three resonances ... ". In that Cleveland recording he simply presses on, where in the earlier Erato/Radio France recording issued on CBS in the U.K., the dying away is observed in the spirit called for.

Thanks! You said you weren't overly enamoured with the Chronochromie on that release, so I was curious

[Serial_Apologist]

Apart from performances of his own works, and those of Webern, my fondest memories are of his Mahler with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, especially the 5th and 8th. When it came to Stravinsky, with the exception of his party-piece, Le Chant du Rossignol, and the full Le Rossignol, I must admit to coming away somewhat disappointed, much as I did re. his Messiaen performances in the latter decades of his life, though his performances of his teacher's work in the '60s and '70s were magnificent. I still recall the eager anticipation with which I awaited delivery of the CBS LP of Et exspecto resurrectionem mortuorum and Couleurs de la Cité Celeste when it came out. I had previously only heard the former via a Third Programme broadcast by the BBCSO under Antal Dorati, which paled in to insignificance compared to what Boulez achieved with the Groupe instumental a percussion de Strasbourg and the Orchestre du domaine musical, the first recording I ever ordered in advance of its release.

His own compositions are a treasure trove to which I return again and again, and that includes what we have of the three piano sonatas.

The CBS you refer to is the very recording of Et Expecto and Couleurs that I have: I spotted it in its white cover with the titles emblazoned in silver capitals on the front, sitting in a second hand bin in a record shop - can't now remember which, nor how much I paid for it! I've kept it in pristine condition.

I agree with your feelings about the later Boulez interpretations of Messiaen: it seemed almost as if Boulez wanted to in some way personalise these works - which arguably could have been done with the earlier orchestral compositions from the 1930s like L'Ascension, which I don't in fact remember him conducting, but not those from the early 1960s, where the kinds of straight readings one would assume coming from Boulez would have remained appropriate for their greater degrees of abstraction and formal complexity.

[Serial_Apologist]

Boulez also gave a wonderful pre-Prom talk prior to that concert in his typical rapid fire English.

Somebody once gave me a bootleg reel-to-reel of an introductory talk he gave on Berg's Chamber Concerto, in which in outlining the musical symbols embedded in the work's structure and hinting at others ingeniously concealed, he spoke - to much audience amusement - of the work as being like an iceberg, in which the small proportion most apparent was uppermost, while the largest part long remained hidden until one got to know the work. I remember being struck at this Frenchman's grasp of that curous love of puns beloved of English speakers.

[makropulos]

The CBS you refer to is the very recording of Et Expecto and Couleurs that I have: I spotted it in its white cover with the titles emblazoned in silver capitals on the front, sitting in a second hand bin in a record shop - can't now remember which, nor how much I paid for it! I've kept it in pristine condition.

I agree with your feelings about the later Boulez interpretations of Messiaen: it seemed almost as if Boulez wanted to in some way personalise these works - which arguably could have been done with the earlier orchestral compositions from the 1930s like L'Ascension, which I don't in fact remember him conducting, but not those from the early 1960s, where the kinds of straight readings one would assume coming from Boulez would have remained appropriate for their greater degrees of abstraction and formal complexity.

I agree with both of you about the 1966 Et Expecto (Erato/CBS) - it's a stunningly impressive performance, and has a monumental, spacious quality that the later one doesn't. Boulez did conduct L'Ascension with the Chicago Symphony in 1996 and that live performance was put out on one of the CSO's own archive sets. I remember it as rather fine. And of earlier works, there's also the ravishing recording he made with Felicity Palmer of the Poèmes pour Mi (on an Argo LP and on CD in a Decca box that came - and went - in 2008).

[peterthekeys]

Sarah Walker is talking to some interesting folk (Rattle, Benjamin, and others) right now on In Tune. She seems very knowledgeable herself and is handling things well.

She does know her stuff (she has a doctorate in English experimental music.) She's also a fine pianist and excellent sightreader. One of the presenters on R3 for whom I have deep respect.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/profiles/2whJWjs5P0m4hz07T1zWbCb/sarah-walker

[Pulcinella]

Postscript to #32.

Having read other postings, I remembered seeing the WNO production of Pelleas et Melisande he conducted (4 April 1992, Bristol Hippodrome), so not just the one live experience.

Does anyone else remember the promotional LP Reach out for Boulez?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PIERRE-BOULEZ-Reach-Out-For-Boulez-Excellent-Condition-LP-Record-CBS-73333-/391205450946

It contained the Meistersinger prelude commented on above, and Berg's Die Nachtigall (Harper), the latter finally having found its way onto CD, in the big Sony box, together with the later Norman version.
Listening to the Wagner as I type.

[Lento]

Interesting to hear George Benjamin recalling that Boulez, in their last conversation, felt that Berg had ruined his music by turning to serialism. (George Benjamin disagrees with that opinion). I hadn't realised the apparent strength of Boulez's reaction against serialism in later life.

[EdgeleyRob]

Very sad news indeed

RIP

I can't say I'm a lover of his music,but clearly he was an iconic composer and conductor.

[Serial_Apologist]

Interesting to hear George Benjamin recalling that Boulez, in their last conversation, felt that Berg had ruined his music by turning to serialism. (George Benjamin disagrees with that opinion). I hadn't realised the apparent strength of Boulez's reaction against serialism in later life.

Is that correct though? You may well be right; my aural impression of Boulez's later music is that it no longer follows any form of pitch serialism. Far too much repetition!!!

[silvestrione]

Is that correct though? You may well be right; my aural impression of Boulez's later music is that it no longer follows any form of pitch serialism. Far too much repetition!!!

Yes, Repons, which I love and listened to twice last night, has many repeating motifs, and arpeggio-figures, in particular. The sound-world, though quintessentially Boulez, owes a lot to Messaien (of Chronochromie and Oiseaux Exotiques). There are two or three sections with tap-your-feet rhythms, not unlike those in those works I named, and the last section before the coda is a slow dance. This piece should be popular! (but what future does it have in performance without Boulez to direct, and the IRCAM sound engineer?)

[ahinton]

Yes, Repons, which I love and listened to twice last night, has many repeating motifs, and arpeggio-figures, in particular. The sound-world, though quintessentially Boulez, owes a lot to Messaien (of Chronochromie and Oiseaux Exotiques). There are two or three sections with tap-your-feet rhythms, not unlike those in those works I named, and the last section before the coda is a slow dance. This piece should be popular! (but what future does it have in performance without Boulez to direct, and the IRCAM sound engineer?)

Fine as Boulez was as a condutor of his own works, there are others who have proved themselves eminently capable of handling them well (even if they would each use a baton!); I'd not mind at all hearing Répons in Barenboim's hands, but then there are more nams that spring to mind - Knussen, for example - and perhaps even an apparently wildcard choice such as Segerstam...