ConcertPulse
LSO Chamber Ensemble
Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Milton Court (London)
Fanfares, massed cellos and electronics – a fascinating celebration of the music of Pierre Boulez, in his centenary year.
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Fanfares, massed cellos and electronics – a fascinating celebration of the music of Pierre Boulez, in his centenary year.
Celebrating Pierre Boulez and his influences, in the composer’s centenary year: his beloved Debussy, alongside three intriguing world premieres.
At the start of the Boulez Year, the Wizemann in Stuttgart will host a unique concert workshop. Conductor Oscar Jockel will introduce Boulez's "Polyphonie X," explaining it with excerpts played by the SWR Symphony Orchestra. This piece, a bridge between Boulez's early and later styles, caused a scandal at its 1951 premiere. The concert also includes Webern's arrangement of Bach's "Fuga Ricerata" and Webern's Symphony Op. 21, both relevant to Boulez's work, and concludes with a second performance of "Polyphonie X."
In 1802, Beethoven decided to "embark on a new path", resulting in his deeply personal "Eroica" Symphony. This groundbreaking work aligns perfectly with Pierre Boulez, the revolutionary composer born 100 years ago. Boulez's twelve piano miniatures, "Notations" from 1945, are remarkably inventive, poetic, and surprisingly relaxed. Pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard, a Boulez expert, will perform these pieces, alongside their orchestral versions. Ravel's "Miroirs" will provide a resonant afterglow.
A concert workshop in Freiburg's E-Werk will feature conductor Oscar Jockel explaining Pierre Boulez's "Polyphonie X" with the SWR Symphony Orchestra. This piece, a scandal at its 1951 premiere, connects Boulez's early and later styles. Following the analysis and full performance, the concert includes Webern's arrangement of Bach's "Fuga Ricerata" and Webern's Symphony Op. 21, highlighting polyphony and musical development, both crucial to Boulez's work. A second performance of "Polyphonie X" concludes the evening.
The Orchestre National de France and Philippe Manoury here pay tribute to Pierre Boulez the conductor, teacher and mentor—these deeply valued other facets to the composer whose centenary we are celebrating this year.
With Sir Simon Rattle conducting, a programme that nicely balances Brahms’ final symphony with Boulez’s Éclat and a French premiere, the suite from Benjamin’s opera Lessons in Love and Violence.
Klaus Mäkelä lets loose on a program of changing colours, from modernism to impressionism. As a bonus, Gustavo Dudamel takes the podium to conduct one of Beethoven's most brilliant pieces!
Vocal and orchestral colours are the order of the day in this contrasting program where the shine of the brass contrasts with the impressionist moire, with the added bonus of Poulenc's smiling spirituality and Mussorgsky’s irresistible pictures!
A bewitching programme of contrasts: Pierre Boulez’s glittering sound world, late Johannes Brahms, and a lyrical world premiere from George Benjamin – to celebrate Sir Simon Rattle’s 70th birthday.
Far from beginning with a clean slate, Pierre Boulez drew on ancient forms as foundations for his music, such as the liturgical forms at the heart of Répons—placed here in perspective alongside Debussy and Ravel, and a new work by Charlotte Bray.
Michael Barenboim enjoyed a close artistic and personal friendship with Pierre Boulez, whose Anthèmes 2 he performed for the composer’s 90th birthday in 2015 in Berlin, London, Paris, and Salzburg, among other cities. Joined by electronic musician Gilbert Nouno, he brings this complex score for violin and live electronics back to the Pierre Boulez Saal. The program also includes solo works by Gérard Grisey, Samir Odeh-Tamimi, and Kareem Roustom.
Ivan Repušić, chief conductor of the Munich Radio Orchestra, is celebrated for his emotional, gripping style. This season, he directs the Karajan Academy for the first time, presenting a varied programme with the young musicians. An early classical symphony by JS Bach’s son Johann Christian meets the Notturno by the young Arnold Schönberg, a work still very much in the late Romantic tradition. Pierre Boulez mourns the death of Igor Stravinsky in his Mémoriale, while Friedrich Gulda’s Cello Concerto and Darius Milhaud's Le Boeuf sur le toit are full of musical humour.