Boulez - Sur Incises (extract) - Ensemble InterContemporain

[ad80ad]

The very funny thing is that Boulez was often contested for being too much "intolerant" towards neotonal-neoclassical composers...when the most harshly intolerant towards atonal-expressionist-dodecapho­nic music were (and are) exactly those "pseudo-romantics" who like very much playing the role of the victim. See many comments on these you tube videos. It's always so funny for me to see this musical nazis crying for freedom, as to say the opposite thing of what they represent.

[malgray2]

I think this is great!

[Hartcomposer]

This is some of the greatest music I have ever heard. (and for you conservative idiots Boulez has made an incredible rendition of Beethoven's ninth and other pieces)

[thepotatovagina]

This sullen old twerp will never go down with Schubert and Brahms. you can be sure of that. he only obtained fame by his bullying tactics and "look at me" antics (outrageous comments, etc.) the 1950s to the present day will be seen as the era of pretentious clowns (him and cockhausen especially) and laughed at. even today people laugh. most of the people in the classical music scene are just waiting for this old cocksucker to die so they can celebrate his death, and at 85, it won't be long now.

[chairrest35]

@thepotatovagina. You may want to see someone about the anger problems. Most people in the classical music world will miss Boulez deeply. If he is laughed at why have great musicians such as Barenboim, Aimard, Pollini, Abbado, Rattle to name but a few championed his works?

[KunkkaFart]

Umm so... is this some sort of pastiche? Sounds a lot like some of Alberto Ginastera's works.

[jre58591]

@KunkkaFart Uhh, no. What makes you think that? It couldn't be further from a pastiche. It is completely original.

[KunkkaFart]

@jre58591 Well, theres just something about it, especially at 4:10 to the end of the video(what happened to the rest of it anyway?) that sounded quite familiar. Both Boulesz and Ginatera are, ocourse, very original composers.

[Bagas]

avant-combover

[dieterammann4]

In earlier times Boulez could be quite apodictic, but this is over. I worked with him (he conducted pieces of mine), and he work was very sensitive and careful, even though my music is quite different from "post-boulez-style".

And in my opinion, his music is sensual; the sensuality of contemporary music is often present within the sound- the sound itself is the medium and doesn't need to express any "extra-musical" sentiments.

[taparero]

this is incidental music in my town, like mistery soundtrack film or ballet Music my son play the piano like him by instint

[PraxisAxis]

These are the sounds of a composer who made a point of labeling more than a few of his contemporaries (now acknowledged as masters) as "fascists" on the grounds that their styles of music were somehow flawed. These are the sounds of a composer who would turn his back (literally) on composers who employed tonality; or who chided his teacher - Messian - for being misguided! Sheesh, *for a composer* that's certainly one heck of a lot of self-confidence.

[PraxisAxis]

@PraxisAxis Messiaen.  oops :)

[Bagas]

Beautifully done.

[nothoughtdesigns]

Everyone is counting like MADMEN!

[wagneristhebest]

Incredible. Boulez is a fascination to me, a composer who strikes against his mathmatical approach and his total serialism. I prefer a brand of freethinking hyper-romanticism, based on boundless harmonies, melodies and rhythm. However, this work astounds and enlightens my musical aesthetic. Bravo.

[vaughangarrick]

I wish I could write music like this

[coasterman16]

Does anyone else find the camerawork to be absolutely abysmal during the toccata section? The pianos and harps get virtually NO screen time; we get very limited views of the piano fingerwork; the majority of the shots are awkward views of the mallet instruments; and the shots of Boulez conducting are also taken at close-up, bizarre angles. Horrid.

[physphilmusic]

The thing about this particular piece is that although it might be emotionless, also in the way Boulez conducts, and that at many points I am on the verge of giving up on it, equally many times I see myself being drawn back to the striking effects he achieves out of the unusual different instruments playing together. The rhythm is also very compelling. Although it might not be a masterpiece of our age, it is certainly is a good musical work.

[sweeney665]

i really try to keep an open mind in the 21st century composed music but i find it emotionless....i mean it is so cerebral that ends up meaningless..as a musician my self i know that such pieces are mostly appreciated by those who compose it or play it, in contrast to the baroque-classic-romantic and in general the early composers whose works were cherished by the simplest of people who had nothing to do with music..even Bach who wrote in contra.sorry, but this is pointless music..at least 4 me.

[physphilmusic]

@sweeney665 Is emotion meaning, then? What is emotion, exactly? Does that mean that Romantic music is more meaningful than Bach's preludes and fugues, for example, which hold emotions which are far less easily identifiable than Tchaikovsky or Dvorak then? Emotion is an important part of music, but it's not the only thing. Too much emotion - you get popular music, which is often repetitive and banal. Much modern music wanted to do away with the emotional excesses of Romanticism, so here you are.

[sweeney665]

@physphilmusic well yes u are right about the excess of the Romantic period but this is going to the opposite EDGE,meaning that is also pointless to exceedingly be so cerebral. Being just atonal or serial or random and say that you try to express yourself isnt near good enough,for me if u cant find the balance between emotion and "mathematics" then u have failed up to a point.i do enjoy to listen to meshuggah though..

[cnmaster01]

@sweeney665 to me this sounds beautiful and heartfelt without even so much as acknowledging the theoretics behind it. There is good and bad "atonal" and "tonal" music alike. this work is far more "tonal" and less dissonant than, Liszt's Faust Symphony or even the F minor Fugue from Bach's Well tempered clavier, never mind Wagner. the fact of the matter is that the classical music circle has, since Brahms' time, rejected the new, treating the concert hall as a shrine for ancient "beauty"

[donprudenzio]

@physphilmusic I agree with you completely, but serialism (and all of it's variations) isn't of course the only answer. That would be a very unhistorical view on the history of western music. Even despite the fact that Boulez thinks his music is the most legitimate kind of music. In the case of his music I also definitely feel emotion, that of complete indifference. That's also a very important emotion.

[donprudenzio]

@physphilmusic That doesn't mean I consider it 'bad' music (speaking of wrong notes! I'm just joking), it simply leaves me cold.

[physphilmusic]

@sweeney665 And you think that "early" composers' works were cherished by the "simplest" of people? Hardly. How many of your friends listen to Bach? Much less than those who listen to Lady Gaga, normally. Most people can't follow Bachian counterpoint, which is also why Rachmaninov and Tchaikovsky are much more popular. It's only a matter of degree. Just because for you the line stops at Bach, doesn't mean that you should just think of this as meaningless - for many people it is genuinely music.

[sweeney665]

@physphilmusic i wasnt referring to contemporary people or to my friends. i was talkng about the time when "classical" music was all the music there was. And that when Mozart wrote his opera buffas, even the most common of all people who had nothing to do with music ENJOYED it. because he kept the balance. Their music still included complicated harmonies and theoretical principles but they did so without getting too hard on the ear.

[physphilmusic]

@sweeney665 Well the reality is that what happened in the 20th century, like the commercialization of music, only served to encourage movements which try to become more and more intellectual. I mean you cannot fault them. And I strongly believe that although the best kind of composer is one who can find a perfect balance between experimentation and emotional appeal, most people can't do that, and that doesn't mean that they should be thought of as trash.

[physphilmusic]

@sweeney665 Because if you compare everyone to the genius Mozart, then most people would fall short - many people didn't appreciate Beethoven at first, many people didn't like even Tchaikovsky's piano concerto, etc. Which is why I tend to try to listen to music like this with a really open mind, seeking meaning when there seems none. And the result isn't nothing - I found this very interesting, with some meaning, even emotion. And hence it is worthy of playing and listening.

[sweeney665]

@physphilmusic your point right and i agree with you when innovative oersonas come to light are at first frowned upon, but for me the line between innovation and plain,even pointless to a point experimenting is VERY thin....but anywayz i think we agree on the balance thing. i do find this interesting, in fact really interesting,but it stops there. i cant enjoy it ..:)

[muslit]

it took boulez 3 years to write this crap? pathetic.

[physphilmusic]

@muslit Let's see you write a work of the same quality in the same time period. SERIOUSLY. Try writing atonal music. The moment you start actually writing NOTES down, instead of just waxing lyrical about how it's just banging the piano around, you'll realize that writing atonal stuff is very, very difficult, especially if you want to express yourself.

[nobodady1]

@muslit And it took you how many seconds to weigh in on the matter? Just because you have a right to your opinion doesn't mean it is worth anything.

[muslit]

@nobodady1

like i care what people think of my opinion - i have the recording, and this tube video reminded me of what i think of this piece - derivative comes to mind - think of bartok - this piece would be nowhere'sville without him - perhaps 'crap' was too harsh a word -

[nobodady1]

@muslit I just don't know where to draw the line.  All works are inspired by those of others, or derive their idiom or practices, in least in part, from pervious works. Even works you would consider highly original. This piece, to me, does not sound like it was composed by Bartok. But some of what Bartok explored overlapps with what Boulez's teacher, Messaien was developing. Maybe you hear a little of Messaien? Do you have any opinion of Bartok or Messaien?

[nobodady1]

@muslit Well, "crap" is a harsh word, but it is also not very precise. So thanks for clarifying your objections to this piece --- that it is derivative, in your opinion. To me, I just listen --- I am not trying to determine how original or derivative it is, and I can enjoy the experience. If I think more about it, perhaps I can trace some of the sources that inspired Boulez in this piece. I hear more Messeian than anyone else.

[joebassplayer]

phenomenal

[ChaDanielsComposer]

Composers of newer generations should learn a lot from this: freedom in the instrumentation, fluidity of gesture and impeccable technique.

[ZachHale8]

I love how daring the instrumentation of Boulez's generation was....3 harps? That's unheard of before this post WW2 generation. 3 pianos, 3 harps, and 3 percussionists....wow. I'm a percussion, so I think that's why I get so much joy out of seeing pieces like this.

[afsdasdasda]

Without doubt, the only great composer who is still alive.

[buckleymcdaniel]

@afsdasdasda I'm pretty sure Elliot Carter is still kickin'.

[thompsotd]

This is just beautiful! Great performance. I like the video production, especially the close-ups on the performers' faces. They are intensely focused, calm and confident. Thanks for posting it!

[flibbertergibbet]

Fascinating to see Boulez deny his listeners even the slightest sonic gratification and get applauded for doing so. Manner over matter? Style over substance?...

Hold it - don't reply to this comment! THINK about it instead. Do you agree with me, disagree, are are you telling yourself to disagree out of preconception?

[SaintAlfonzo91]

@flibbertergibbet : is this jim??

[physphilmusic]

@flibbertergibbet What do you mean by that? "Deny sonic gratification" - as in refuse to put in some tonal-influenced chords, in order to anchor an audience who's bored? It's entirely up to him - for some people, the very interesting timbres, textures and melodic figures actually ARE sonic gratification. Of course, that's why Boulez isn't the best composer for people who just hear instead of listen, but for people who do listen carefully, it's definitely some interesting stuff.

[theillfrisch]

very colorful music.

[wagneristhebest]

definately, in future, the musical language will become english more and more. this is because, english is the growing language in the world, and french is dying as a global language because it is nowhere near as well-known and because britain gained a much larger empire and actually played a big part in winning world war 2. this is a reason because countries like jamaica were forced to send men to fight for them where they were exposed to english culture also.

but boulez is amazing.

[elroi92]

Meme si je ne comprends pas du tout les prinicpe de composition derrière, cette musique est facile à aimer...

[MultiGargiulo]

Uh oh, I hear some bartokisms here and there. In comparison to Le marteau, this is neoclassicism!

[lifeisart37]

I can handle this. Le marteau was dreadful

[ThomasMurphyMusic]

I will open myself to complete flaming by saying that, at this point, I am totally in support of some composers writing pieces that appeal mostly to other music-literate people. I don't think anyone is starting a campaign to end literature written in French because more people worldwide understand English.

[00viperXX]

cool

[Frakanisourimoneslie]

I can't wait to boulez dies. It can't be long now.

[selwynr]

This music sounds fucking great!!!

[Frakanisourimoneslie]

this music sounds fucking awful.

[skeltube]

very good music... and pretty nice video editing

[ZAAL58]

This gentleman has a talent to compose simple noise and that is fine, but he is no Bach, Beethoven, or Brahms.

[bridnu]

i can't stop listening:) reminds me of a dream i had, when i was playing with raindrops, creating music. i love it.

[ypoonsus]

Atonal music has one function - it gives poseurs a chance to pretend to like something that nobody else does. This makes them feel very splendid and superior.

The terrible thing about Boulez was how he tried to bully the rest of the musical world into his way of thinking. As a consequence many wonderful composers of tonal music died unappreciated or never had their music played.

The sixties and seventies nearly killed classical music as an art form.

[otavioandradas]

you've addressed some interesting things. Boulez was a pretentious musician who thought one must destroy the past in order to build something anew. That idea is not necessarily wrong, but the odd thing is that Boulez himself became internationally famous as a CONDUCTOR of NON-CONTEMPORARY WORKS. In other words, his "bullying" side can be explained with another word: HYPOCRISY.

[ypoonsus]

I agree. I would never for a moment doubt Boulez as a conductor - his performances of Debussy are amongst the best ever. But his pronouncements on music and musicians leave a very sour taste in the mouth.

Boulez tried to do the same thing that the Russian State did in the thirties and forties but in reverse - if it didn't please him, it was not to be played.

...

[ypoonsus]

Incidentally, I am grateful that this is on You Tube - always stimulating to have things to debate, even though I think Boulez is a forgettable composer and an arrogant man.

Shame on those who give the 'thumbs down' to negative opinions though - the avant-garde still trying to silence the opposition, I see.....

[otavioandradas]

very well said!!

I live some avant-garde pieces myself (Ligeti and Berio just to give two big names), but the attitude of new music supporters is pathetic sometimes. They sound like Boulez's parrots.

And I agree with you about Boulez as a composer. The music has some good combinations, but it's shallow.

[flammesombres]

are you seriously going to argue that we're trying to "silence the opposition" when you say things like "Atonal music has one function - it gives poseurs a chance to pretend to like something that nobody else does. This makes them feel splendid and superior".

The rest of your comments are terribly misguided also; plenty of tonal composers were virtually unharmed by attitudes like Boulez' - the audience never favored the avant-garde.

I would say that's why you got the thumbs down.

[physphilmusic]

@ypoonsus But in the 1990s he did recant his youthful obsession and insistence on serialism - supporting the growing opinion that contemporary music can be anything, atonal or tonal, serial or random.

[cnmaster01]

@ypoonsus bartok and berg didn't please him and he played their works wonderfully. he always held that he had the right to be wrong. he held his beliefs with conviction, and Orientations is filled with inspiring and insightful approaches ideas and philosophies. his tastes are another matter...

[cnmaster01]

@otavioandradas that, or you've completely misinterpreted his words

[Fish23792]

@ypoonsus Didn't it ever occur to you that some people might *shock* HAVE DIFFERENT TASTES TO YOU!!?!?!?!?!??!?! ZOMG REVELATION!!!!

[ViewerNotes]

your comment has truth and lie in equal proportion (I think). I agree with your 2º paragraph. And not (radically) with the 1st and 3rd (It's more complicated than what you say)

Explain me why I can't enjoy an atonal piece or think about his greatness. Who feels splendid and superior writing atonal music? Nobody, every composer writes what he or she wants.

[emieldelange]

@ypoonsus

Entirely disagree there are more expressive and structural aspects to music than tonality.

[jazzmunky]

Sounds great, makes musical sense to me, nice combinations of sounds, I don't see why people react so badly in the comments below.

I mean if you want tonal, listen to something else.

[baudolinos]

Really beauty! Sadly here is only a excerpt and not the complete piece.

[labouboulkikol]

Faut vraiment étre dégénéré du bulbe pour s'extasier devant une merde pareille!

[labouboulkikol]

Ces compositions sont d'une laideur et d'une nullité affligeante!!!

Aux oubliettes de l'histoire,Boulez!!!

[zutflutefleur]

cent pourcent d'accord! c'est une autopsie musicale!!!!!!

[ambre2012]

Quelle mauvaise réalisation visuelle pour une aussi belle musique !...

[BuckshotLaFunke]

Sur incises - Boulez cuts into sound.

[sergeuleski1]

magnifique

[topologyrob]

Not bad for this guy - still seems to hide his emotions terribly however. One gets the sense of a man very much out of touch with himself (as always) and rather self-absorbed, no matter how gorgeous the cold sonorities are. I admire it, but as with all his music, it leaves me as cold as ice.

[yrgygqbue]

How inspiring.

I'm writing a sonata for a cucumber with three pop rivets in it, a whoopie cushion blessed by a dyslexic, satanic priest, and a pencil sharpener with a sticker saying 'made in China' on it. As the pencil sharpener hits the floor after being dropped from 3.76248 meters, a force of 46 newtons is applied to the whoopie cushion. I tried it with a force of 49 newtons but it wasn't as beautiful.

Peolple say "your music is rubbish" and I'm like "open your mind"

[cnmaster01]

@yrgygqbue if you create a workable piece of music out of that i'd love to hear it

[ygeyer]

this pedanticism will be forgotten as soon as boulez goes into a nursing home

[lifeisart37]

This is fantastic. I much prefer this to Le Marteau Sans Maitre. This is not so controlled and dead. It is vibrant and alive. My heart was punding, actually.

[Varese52]

I didn't want it to end where it did. Gorgeous piece, as is the case with many other of Boulez's more recent scores (the earlier ones were not without their beauties, either). The performers are magnificent (so what else is new? Of course they are!)

[TheFreakSupper]

This will make you think you have more intelligence then you actually do.

[Reverie10]

This is utterly gorgeous.

[jamesaellis]

for a modern composer his music is quite enjoyable.

[paulcopeland]

Thank you for posting this video. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing Boulez in person. Very interesting to see him conducting this rhythmically complex piece.

[japanesesweet]

Ravishing sonorities but this piece is way too long! 15 minutes is about the most i can tolerate of this extremely flashy style of music.the toccata passages seem very stiff when compared with what xenakis and Ligeti come up with.

[pgradone]

Favorite moment: 1:47.

[p0lyph0ny]

Gorgeous timbres, and it's wonderful to be able to see how the orchestra is producing them (even if some of the camera angles are a bit odd). Thank you for posting.

[JekyllBoote]

This really is a case of the Emperor's new clothes. Can't you HEAR that this "music" is drivel? And to think that this puffed-up charlatan dismisses a genuine musical genius - Johannes Brahms - as "historically irrelevant"!

Boulez is a state-funded fraud who has defied sensible people to hiss or laugh at his preposterous cacophonies for decades, under cover of pseudo-intellectualism (read, for example, the ridiculous Boulez on Music Today).

[TheBlackPage1]

Well, when you think of who was around at the same time as Brahms - Bruckner, Wagner, Mahler.. they were all using harmony in a much more progressive way than Brahms was. That does not question the validity of his compositions, of course, but it makes sense Boulez thought he was "historically irrelevant". If you can't see any worth in this music, that's fine. Just don't bore us all with your superficial knowledge of it.

[JekyllBoote]

To TheBlackPage1

You make a number of unsupported assertions/assumptions.

1) Was Brahms less harmonically "progressive"(whatever that term might mean), than Wagner, Bruckner or Mahler (who was a generation younger), and is this the sole criterion of his worth as a composer? (As Schoenberg pointed out, Brahms was far more rhythmically complex.)

2) You assert that my knowedge of Boulez is superficial (which you cannot know) and then claim to speak for everybody else in finding it boring.

[TheBlackPage1]

Your comment displayed nothing more than the usual inane ranting I see on videos of contemporary music. You use phrases like "emperors new clothes" terms like "drivel" & "preposterous" and you put the word "music" in quotation marks. All this suggests to me is you have the insight of a layman with no respect toward modern composers. If you have an unbiased, objective knowledge of this music, then by all means please share - otherwise don't bother to comment.

[JekyllBoote]

You are clearly one of those intellectually arrogant people who thinks that anyone who dares to hold an opinion other than your own is guilty of "inane ranting".

For the record, I am not a layman, but a professional musician with graduate and postgraduate qualifications, who has studied Boulez's works in score (and finds them weak and unconvincing).

"All this suggests to me" that you should be sure of your facts before firing off accusations unjustified by your non-existent evidence.

[TheBlackPage1]

Since when has anyone had an argument on youtube without firing off accusations at one another? You're doing the same thing with me right now. The fact you find his pieces weak and unconvincing is surely a subjective matter, which is fine, but doesn't justify your acidity. I don't consider myself an intellectual and I'm certainly not arrogant- I just have a low tolerance for disrespectful comments toward hardworking composers.

[JekyllBoote]

I really don't want to keep a feud going, but it is not argument per se, or even the "firing off of accusations", that I object to, but simply ad hominem attacks unsupported by evidence. Again, it is not Boulez' capacity for hard work that I object to, but the shoddiness - as I see it - of his musical output.

Your "low tolerance for disrespectful comments toward hardworking composers" surely ought, on your own logic, to extend to those routinely dismissed or vilified by Boulez himself.

[TheBlackPage1]

That's true, and I apologize for the personal attacks. Though I must say, Boulez has certainly softened over the years. He once said that opera houses ought to be burnt down- now he conducts orchestras who play them. And I adore his recordings of the Mahler symphonies, Bruckner's 8th, Strauss, Berlioz etc. so I'm not sure if it's accurate to label him as the typical l'enfant terrible he once was.

[TheBlackPage1]

I've tried to understand his earlier attitude the best I can, and I came to the conclusion that his problem was probably with Schoenberg and the Germanic tradition- he wanted to start from somewhere else (hence his admiration of, first and foremost, Webern, then Scriabin, Bartók, Messiaen etc. etc.)

[frosty956]

This is excelent. The camera angles are slightly insane, but the music is awesom.

[dnollmeyer]

Sur Incises is much more mature than the previous offering.

[pgradone]

Any performance of Boulez's music always amazes me. Ensemble intercontemporain is unmatched.

[Leibo07]

@ pgradone

Your last sentence, I certainly would doubt.

[pgradone]

How dare you.

[Leibo07]

@ pgradone :

There exist recordings of much the same repertoire of the EIC, which are FAR better I dare say indeed.

Take f.ex. :

- Ligeti, Chamber/Cello/Piano Concerto

by Ensemble Modern (Eötvös). From the latter I have one posting on my Channel. Just compare the EIC's famous 'transparency' with this one !

- almost anything modern by the London Sinfonietta : ditto;

- even in the trad. modernist repertoire there are noticeable better ones : Schönberg Ensemble, Nieuw Ensemble f.i.

[pgradone]

Apologies for the "how dare you", I thought that your account name was my wife's, her maiden name being Leib. What label is the Ensemble Modern recording on? I have to agree with you about the Sinfonietta and the Schoenberg Ensemble; especially the latter in regards to their Andriessen recordings. I'm not familiar with the Nieuw ensemble, though. Could you name me a few CDs?

[muslit]

i've liked this piece since i heard it on cd -

someone mentioned those fading 8 chords - what's so impressive about them is that the top note of each is 'do' (c), and the number of notes in each chord is reduced until only one not remains, the 'c' - very beautiful -

certainly not in detail, but in general impression, the fast part of this video reminds of the fast part of the second movement of bartok's 2nd concerto for piano -

[atralfalgar]

Le compositeur ose appeler cela de la musique ? Si oui, moi aussi je peut écrire ça !

[Sarb1945]

Alors, il faut essayer sans plus tarder...

[atralfalgar]

Je suis compositeur et saches que j'écris de la musique pour exprimer des sentiments qui existent réélement ! Je ne tappe pas un peu partout pour faire croire que j'ai composé de la musique ! Ecoutez Messiaen ou Schostakovitch qui savent faire ressentir de vrais sensations et sentiments ! J'aime jouir d'une musique incroyable qui touche l'esprit au plus profond de soi. Ici nous avons affaire à une musique soit disant officiel parce que le compositeur a été sacré par monsieur Chirac.

[atralfalgar]

Ecoute de la musique s'il te plaît car ceci n'a aucun sens, sentiment, sensation ( à part l'envie de se suicider ). Il y a de bien meilleurs compositeurs comptemporain qui eux savaient ce que c'est que de la musique ! Je te laisse et si tu veux des précisions en plus, envois moi un message.

[Sarb1945]

Il y a plus de 50 ans que j'écoute de la musique de Pérotin à Ferneyhough et je connais bien la musique contemporaine, terre d'aventures merveilleuses et d'impasses aussi, je le reconnais. Boulez a fermé des portes mais en a ouvert d'autres. Le Marteau sans maître, Pli selon Pli, Répons, sont des chefs-d'oeuvre qui marquent notre époque. Petite précision, j'adore Messiaen que Boulez dirige merveilleusement et Chostakovitch que Boulez déteste. A chacun son jardin secret.

[atralfalgar]

Bien que j'ai entendu très peu de la musique de Pétrotin, il est vrai que cet ancien maître est incroyable. Mais revenons à notre débat. Boulez a ouvers la porte des dissonances abruptes, horrible et anti-artistique ! Ecoutez les dissonances de Bach, mahler, Chostakovitch ou Messiaen ! Eux , savent utiliser les dissonances à merveille ! Boulez est un minable compositeur sans talent qui a trouvé dans le sérialisme semi-aléatoire une manière de faire de la "musique" très facillement !

[atralfalgar]

La dimmention intellectuelle ne peut être que humaine ou cosmotique entendez-vous ? Mais j'avoue que Boulez est un très bon chef d'orchestre ! Il a enregistré un exellante version de la 3ème symphonie de Mahler avec le Wiener philarmonic et Von Otter.

[Sarb1945]

C'est réduire la musique d'estimer qu'elle n'est écrite que pour exprimer des sentiments. Elle a aussi une dimension intellectuelle qui procure un réel plaisir même si ce plaisir nécessite une certaine formation de l'oreille. Par pitié, n'assimilez pas Boulez à de la musique officielle et encore moins à Chirac qui ne connaît pas grand chose à la musique. En revanche, Boulez fut un ami des Pompidou. Et alors ! Quel rapport avec son écriture ? Boulez est toujours resté libre.

[JeeRant]

Is it just me, or did I hear a kinda-sorta CONSONANT chord at 1:11?

Surely Boulez wouldn't stoop so low.

[franzliszt370]

Boulez's music reminds me of a chiselled diamond... so clean, so pure, cold but never unattractive. Thank you so much for posting this video.

[latinusmusicien]

Only a genius can create sth. like this.

[otterhouse]

his recent music is quite accesable...

-----------------------------

Rolf, Netherlands.

I am a collector of classical 78's and lp's

Click "otterhouse" above to see (and hear!)

some of my collection.

[surincises]

This honestly has to be the best thing on YouTube.

[liberomureddu]

This piece it's wonderful! One of the best beginnings of contemporary music! And the "fading out" chords at 3'03'' until 3'15''... amazing! Thanks for posting it.

[holzfaellen]

Jetzt weiß ich, welche DVD ich mir als nächste kaufe.

[jamesaellis]

the great thing is that it not to uneasy on the hera which is good of him.

[HD41117]

I am surprised by how old this piece sounds now, by the beauty of the acoustic space, by the video director's decision to show us the music as it exists in air, between players... it's a really wonderful thing. I think I must buy this DVD!

Thank you very much for posting this excerpt.

[Lillars]

Ça sonne ! Purée que ça sonne bien !

[markmando333]

incredible, great and truly creative

[jatwell55]

Performers: Dimitri Vassilakis (young russian-looking guy), Hidéki Nagano (related to Kent?), Florent Boffard (french-looking guy, but camera never lands on him, always in the background behind Dimitri), pianos; Frédérique Cambreling (wife of Sylvain?), Sandrine Chatron (with the cute smile), Marianne Le Mentec (glasses), harps; Vincent Bauer (gray hair, glasses), Daniel Ciampolini (lots of dark hair), Michel Cerutti (balding), pitched percussion; Pierre Boulez, conductor.

[iwanttowatchsomethin]

shades of Messiaen???

[darahbee]

It's amazing to see Boulez conduct his own music.  The music is so intellectual yet it feels so easy and natural the way it comes out of him. great stuff

[Milos1999]

sweet mother of jesus...more PLEASE !!!!!

[jrk3150]

Really cool that this is on YouTube!

[iwanttowatchsomethin]

What an amazing ensemble -- performance -- composer. WOW!!

[vnsn72]

Fantastic,Ipnotic.....Great wow

[allisonthepianist]

YES YES YES...awesome

[iwanttowatchsomethin]

WOW