Wot? No comments on Boulez?

[ahinton]

As Wilde (the master of us all)

Quoi?

the essential quality of a work of Art is that it remain the same regardless of the attitude of him to whom it is presented.

Or her, presumaly (unless Wilde was guilty of a grave omission here - perhaps you could cite chapter and verse of the quote concerned); tha said, no one is suggesting that Boulez's or anyone else's work differs depending upon who might be listening to it at any give time - that would be absurd!

And let it be said that poor old B, being such an aggressive personality (the war you know)

No, I don't know; being born in the 1920s is not of itself an indicator of aggressive personality and, if it were, we would have all anner of problems, especially given how many people were born in that decade!

and unwilling to cultivate his aesthetic sense

Quoi?

never did very well as an artist.

Says who?

His attempts at musical composition do not amount to much at all, and most of them have airy-fairy titles.

What is there about Boulez's titles that qualifies them to be thought of (at least by you) as such? I don't know about his "attempts at musical composition" but his actual compositions themselves amount to a great deal, even though some of them don't have any appeal to me.

So, recognizing his limitations, he turned to conducting

He turned to conducting because he wanted to conduct; that might have slowed down his compositional output but did not substitute for it.

and made a living conducting Shostakoafish in places like America.

Boulez conducted in many countries, including a tenure in UK. Tha said, the world would have come to an end by some means were he ever to have contemplated conducting Shostakovich, whose music he sadly deplores.

He never married.

I would have thought that at least this fact commended him to you! That said, he's not dead yet, so you shouldn't say "never"!...

[Sydney Grew]

. . . Shostakovich, whose music he sadly deplores.

Oh really? I assumed that having done Mahler he would have done O'Fish as well. It is good, then, to see at least some one in the professional musical world showing a bit of backbone.

. . . I would have thought that at least this fact commended him to you!

You're not wrong there Mr. H!

[Honoured Guest]

His seminal maesterpiece plink sans plonk is a popular choice at teetotal marriage and civil partnership ceremonies in Hereford.

[ahinton]

His seminal maesterpiece plink sans plonk is a popular choice at teetotal marriage and civil partnership ceremonies in Hereford.

What is a "maesterpiece"? No, please don't bother to answer...

Leaving aside the fatuous and humourless nature of the remainder of your assertion, it would have been far more to the point had Pli selon pli been scheduled for performance at the 300th Three Choirs Festival which is shortly to take place in that city, to mark Boulez's 90th birthday.

[ahinton]

Oh really? I assumed that having done Mahler he would have done O'Fish as well.

One would be wise to be wary of making assumptions without any evidence. That said, I'm unaware that Boulez has ever conducted any Irish music, but I've not heard of O'Fish anyway.

It is good, then, to see at least some one in the professional musical world showing a bit of backbone.

All conductors have backbones; goes with the territory.

You're not wrong there Mr. H!

But what possible relevance does Boulez's marital state have in a serious discussion of his work as a musician?

Can we please return to such discussion after these pointless digressions?

[Honoured Guest]

The Three Chairs Festival isn't until late summer. Boulez is 90. Risky birthday programming.

[ahinton]

The Three Chairs Festival isn't until late summer. Boulez is 90. Risky birthday programming.

I do know when the Three Choirs Festival is taking place; you apparently do not. http://www.3choirs.org/ clarifies this as 25 July - 1 August and, however unreliable British weather can be, I would certainly hope that this is not "late summer". (I must admit that I did not expect to refer to the Three Choirs Festival in a thread on Boulez, but the rather pointless mention of Hereford prompted me to do so!)...

Throughout his 90th birthday year, Boulez and his work will be widely celebrated, not just on and around his actual birthday; I'm sure that you know this, whether or not you approve of it.

Do you by chance happen to have anything serious to contribute to the discussion of Boulez at 90 and the recent London event?

[ahinton]

For goodness' sakes - Boulez attained the age of 90 today; does no one have any thing to say about him on this occasion?...

[Honoured Guest]

For goodness' sakes -

- Marxist-Leninists scorn this despicable bourgeois phrase -

Boulez attained the age of 90 today;

Happy birthday, Pierre!

does no one have any thing to say about him on this occasion?...

He was ultimately unsuccessful in destroying classical music.

[Richard Barrett]

He was ultimately unsuccessful in destroying classical music.

What a silly thing to say.

[ahinton]

Marxist-Leninists scorn this despicable bourgeois phrase

Even if all of them do in all possible contexts, what has this to do with the price of fish? - i.e. what is your point here?

He was ultimately unsuccessful in destroying classical music.

This suggests that he was trying to destroy it over an extended period of time but failed; how daft a statement is that?

[Sydney Grew]

Is not "organized delirium" a contradiction in terms? An impossibility? A figment?

[ahinton]

Is not "organized delirium" a contradiction in terms? An impossibility? A figment?

Not necessarily, I would say - but who mentioned it where? A quick glance tghrough the thread didn't reveal it, so have I missed it or was it mentioned in a link somewhere?

[Richard Barrett]

Is not "organized delirium" a contradiction in terms? An impossibility? A figment?

All of the above. And why not? (And see my quote above from David Hockney.)

[Richard Barrett]

Here Pierre Boulez in conversation with John Schaefer picks ten "great works of the twentieth century", not I dare say the "top" ten, still less the only ten. His choices aren't really surprising but his little explanations are quite interesting I think. For ease of discussion these are the works he chooses:

Varèse, Amériques
Berg, Three Pieces op.6
Stravinsky, Rite of Spring
Bartók, Music for strings, percussion and celesta
Webern, Six Pieces op.6
Berio, Sinfonia
Stockhausen, Gruppen
Mahler, Symphony no.6
Schoenberg, Erwartung
Boulez, Répons

... although my putting them here shouldn't be an excuse not to read the article!

I don't much like making this kind of list and I don't imagine Boulez did either. If I did it would have to be a lot longer, I would probably choose some of the same pieces, some different pieces by the same composers, and quite a few things that Boulez would regard either as too old-fashioned or as too extreme in some other way. While his musical world is quite complex within itself, his view of the outside musical world has always seemed relatively simple - there's a small repertoire of things that are worth bothering with, and the rest isn't worth a mention.