Pierre Boulez - Piano Sonata No. 2 - I. Extrêmement rapide

[McSqueaky]

Ehhh... I just can't appreciate this kind of music.

[GGbreizh]

Saint-Saëns didn't consider Debussy's works as music (althoughDebussy said he was the person who knows music the most). Then how could Saint-Saëns describe this work?

I should listen more to Boulez music, but I really don't like this music at first approach, and I think that music can be atonal without being like Boulez...

Anyway I prefer hearing (trying to understand) this piece than Bieber, Gaga and so on "music".

[afertyus1000]

@GGbreizh yes but just make sure you don't have it up too loud otherwise the neighbours will think you have cracked up, lol

[MRBEAN2784]

Incredible..........

[reivilo747]

Hello everybody ! Thanks for sharing this very interesting video.

I was asking my self, I know that Pierre Boulez used chance to make some of his music (maybe not this one, even if it seems like) but how can you distinguish this from pure randomness? From a monkey just playing around on a keyboard ? The most stunning is that it seems very precise, I see on the score many annotations ( forte, piano, crescendo...)

How do explain all this ?

Thank you very much.

(Sorry for the English, I'm French)

[Eldor503]

Quand j'accorde mon piano ça fait pareil...

[violadude0987]

And also, seriously guys?? Not music. the theme development in this piece is awesome! Just listen for it!

[violadude0987]

Wow this piece is in Sonata form! Who would have guessed...hehe

I'm a big fan of 20th century music but even I didn't know that. The score helps a ton! Thanks!

[fabptitpom]

The fuck? Did he even listen to his own music? :/

This isn't piano to me...

[SakatoNakashi]

Its hard to understand. But I accept this music.

[darioushs]

what in the freaking world

i would rather listen to justing biber

what is this and people call it music

wdf ppl

[Rhinegoldt]

Whether you like this music or not, let's not deny that this is a wonderful presentation! Breaking the score into two to four measure segments makes the listening/watching experience really enjoyable. I am a great lover of this composer's later works, but must admit that the piano sonatas and Structures I & II are much more difficult to apprehend aesthetically. Presenting the visual and aural components together makes experiencing this piece a pleasure. Thanks for sharing!

[Epogdous]

@Rhinegoldt Thank you! :]

[faads]

Ok, it reminds me Metallica with Lou Reed!!!

[dmichaele11]

Atonal serialism, with its crabbed mannerisms, has run its course. Composers like Arvo Part, Eric Whitacre, Paul Moravec and Jennifer Higdon are composing music that demonstrates great craft and actually has an ingratiating aesthetic. Schoenberg predicted that with greater exposure atonality would catch on and supplant the 'kitsch-ridden" tonal syntax. Didn't happen.

[dmichaele11]

American composer, Stephen Albert: " Starting back in the early 60s, I felt I was fleeing from a cultural funeral. People didn't see the caskets yet, but I saw them. The only honest thing was to resist it. Once you brought the cultural bolshevism of the time, you were down the mindless trail of the avant-garde---25 years down the line I suspect that one will look back with mystification as to how people took the 50s to the 70s seriously, except as some kind of social aberration."

[RadioEiskirch]

@dmichaele11 Such scary talk about "cultural bolshevism" and "social aberration" sounds like Goebbels. Never imagined an American composer would argue the same way after WW2, haha...

[Seekthetruth3000]

It is very easy to play this kind of music. I use this for warming up. It is NOT beautiful music though.

[Dani24s]

this sure sucks

[MrOrganist007]

I am very sorry but this isn't music for me... When I listen to it, i must cry because I fear... Very sorry... But Pollini is very good pianist :)

[aculturemind]

What's funny is that most people can't see the blatant European-ness of Boulez' music - in contrast with Stockhausen, for example.

[GwynethSmegma]

Mahler composed mountains. Boulez composed carparks.

[MaestroTJS]

@GwynethSmegma No, it's more like a sewage treatment plant. Complicated, but toxic and very smelly.

[ChibiRaikou]

@GwynethSmegma boulez is more like brutalist architecture

[lovesGenet]

Someone orchestrated Beeth op.106 .Well .someone orchestrate this violence,brusque et vivant. . as anyone done that? With explosante-fixe it isn't that we need it but what a wonder it too would be. this language never grows old., Berg ,

Carter and Babbitt show how individual 12 tone can be.

[lovesGenet]

Someone orchestrated Beeth op.106 .Well .somone orchestrate this violence,brusque et vivant. . as anyone done that? With explosante-fixe it isn't that we need it but what a wonder oit too would be. this lang never grows old., bergCarter and Babbitt show how individual 12 tone can be.

[Mocka731]

i can see how this is music but i sure dont like it :/

plus i dont see how this is considered hard as you get a wrong note and no one knows :P

[Epogdous]

@Mocka731 A wrong note…  ',:| Alfred Cortot was one of the finest Chopin pianists and he was also famous for his interpretative freedom and frequent "errors".

[VSV51]

Horrible bunch of notes. No music

[Epogdous]

@VSV51 Horrible bunch of words. No meaning

[alfo590]

@VSV51 That is so ignorant of you. How can you talk about something you are not even close to understand?

[mrpankau]

Three words: Pollini doesn't suck.

[bach14boulez]

Ecstasy...

[SigmaOxygen]

It's funny how musical fascists use this guy's "politics" as an excuse to be offended by what they aren't familiar with.

[MaestroTJS]

@SigmaOxygen It's funny that you must assume I am unfamiliar with what's going on here.

It's also funny that you assume I am the "musical fascist" when the guy who wrote this and the majority of the avant-garde followers are the very definition of that.

For the record, I personally don't care whether people want to write or enjoy music like this (I don't and won't), but I do have a major problem when the avant-garde is presented as the "only" way forward and traditionalists are belittled.

[MaestroTJS]

@SigmaOxygen Tell us, then, O Guardian of Higher Knowledge, what is it that we lowly plebians who think this is trash are missing? Am I supposed to be impressed by a guy who can write out a bunch of matrices (with no true regard to actual sound) and figures out how to arrange them on several pages of manuscript paper? That's clever mathematics but it's not great music. I'd bet anything Boulez and his ilk wouldn't be able to write even a SIMPLE memorable melody if their lives depended on it.

[FutureMoth]

Could you maybe edit the video description to include the date of composition?

[Epogdous2]

@FutureMoth Ops! It was composed in 1947–48. I add the date in the description box. Thanks for letting me know. :)

[MaestroTJS]

Phenomenal. The thematic transformations are mind-blowing. Rarely has so much been said in such a short amount of time. All aspects of the human condition are perfectly reflected here.

Oops! Sorry, I had a window up of Beethoven's 32nd sonata in another window. I got the two mixed up.

This? This is excrement dressed up as great art by the biggest musico-fascist of our time, a guy who probably had to resort to such theoretical music because he had no talent to write anything else.

[jdbrown371]

@MaestroTJS Then Boulez must have fooled Pollini pretty good to get him to play his sonata. The only excrement is the brown rotting mass between your ears.

[MaestroTJS]

@jdbrown371 Yes, he must have.

Lots of great musicians have propagated bad compositions, so your post means about as much to me as my calling it crap does to you.

By all means, however, enjoy your dreck! 

[jdbrown371]

@MaestroTJS That's not true. Great musicians are always associated with great music, otherwise they wouldn't be great musicians.  It's my belief music exists to elevate the human spirit and take it new places. Trolling the internet posting nasty comments about avante-garde composers is hardly a worthy pass time but clearly it is for you. If that's what floats your boat then by all means, enjoy your dreck.

[MaestroTJS]

@jdbrown371 No, I check out these videos in order to educate myself, but I'm not going to hold back my opinions.

So how is this elevating the human spirit and taking it new places? Sounds like it's straight out of the bottomless pit, actually.

There were plenty of virtuosos associated with bad/mediocre music, by the way--for example, Paganini, Moscheles, Kalkbrenner, Herz, Thalberg, Clementi, Liszt (mainly his promotion of others, though much of his own is pretty worthless), et. al.

[jdbrown371]

@MaestroTJS Moscheles, Kalkbrenner, Herz, Thalberg were still good composers, not bad composers, but not among the greatest. So what? The only bottomless pit here is your ignorance. Clementi and Liszt are far better composers than they're given credit. Liszt mainly worthless? Sounds like you read that from some dusty old book by a music critic out of the 19th century. You're rather mean spirited and aggressive for a Canadian.

[MaestroTJS]

@jdbrown371 As I asked, please explain how this is elevating the human spirit, but try not to focus on the "taking it new places" part. That much is obvious.

Good =/= Great

Clementi and Liszt had some interesting ideas but tended to use a lot of frills that were done in bad taste in order to show off their skills. ("Taste," of course, is something that few people seem to understand anymore.) Liszt's music tends to lack substance and real depth, going after effect and novelty for the most part.

[aculturemind]

@MaestroTJS

Mmmm, later Liszt was far more meditative - note how Wagner stole some of it!

As for your....need to be elevated....maybe you're going to the wrong kind of house?

[MaestroTJS]

@aculturemind Yes, I'd like to explore his later works a bit more although I haven't gotten around to much of it since he's not my favourite composer and I have better things to do. I was mainly referring to the flashy, frilly crap one has to endure when listening to piano recitals because the pianists enjoy showing off with it. (I hate most composers' "frills" though (Romantic period forward).)

But I will always love the E-flat concerto. :)

[MaestroTJS]

@jdbrown371 And, really, those other guys were worse than they first appear. The main reason why they don't seem that much worse than the greats is that they were kept in check by having had a solid musical education and then pandering to the public. But it's pablum because that's what they chose to cultivate.

The Canadian comment greatly amused me, but I'm taking it as a compliment even though it was not intended as such. :P

[guitarphunk]

Wow, this is incredible! Let's face it, you are either an inside the box type of person or an outside the box type of person. This is the guy I want to hang out with on my deck man! Let's have a beer and talk! Right on!

[Epogdous]

@guitarphunk Ah ah! Sure thing! :D

[BestCoolGuy22]

this sux lol

[laurion69]

Il problema è che da un lato esiste l'esigenza di fare musica nuova, ma dall'altro quella di fare musica bella.

Gli esperimenti con la musica seriale sono esperimenti falliti, perché non si è riusciti a fare il nuovo mantenendo un linguaggio interessante o forse più semplicemente a fare musica bella.

Come diceva lo stesso Schoenberg, la maggior parte dei tentativi di fare musica senza tonalità si risolve in musica "semplicemente brutta" e lui stesso considereva il serialisimo un esperimento.

[Epogdous]

@laurion69 "Schoenberg é morto" di Pierre Boulez. Lo puoi scaricare da qui: aulacontemporanea.blogspot.com­/2011/04/ebook-schoenberg-is-d­ead-pierre-boulez.html

[Epogdous]

@laurion69 Gran parte della produzione discografica della musica pop e elettronica (house, ambient, etc.) é affidato a procedimenti seriali computerizzati. La Lady Gaga di turno canta su questo tipo di basi e vende milioni di dischi. Raccapricciante, ma succede. Il serialismo non mi sembra un'idea tanto fallita.

[laurion69]

@Epogdous

La musica pop basata su procedimenti seriali?

Fammi un esempio...

La musica pop non va oltre le triadi con concatenazioni armoniche semplici (I - V - IV etc.), dove le hai sentite le serie nella musica pop?

Se ti riferisci ai sequenzer (che ripetono un giro armonico o un frammento di giro armonico oppure ai "loop" campionati nella musica dance, quella è tutta un'altra cosa, che non ha nulla a che vedere con le serie dodecafoniche.

[Epogdous]

@laurion69 Non ci siamo capiti. Seriale non vuol dire necessariamente dodecafonico. Ad esempio il primo Stravisky seriale non é dodecafonico. Seriale é semplicemente il procedimento compositivo (approccio algoritmico, controllo strutturale, predicibilità). Nella musica pop é raro trovare il contrario. Cerca su Google "pdf Richard Hemmings unpredictable popular music". Buona lettura!

[laurion69]

@Epogdous

Come ho scritto sopra, le varie tecniche digitali o analogiche di ripetere frammenti o sequenze armoniche e melodiche della musica pop/dance non hanno nulla a che fare con la serie intesa come metodo compositivo (prevalentemente dodecafonico) di rottura del sistema tonale o modale fondato sulle scale e sulla sovrapposizione di terze..

Sono due cose completamente diverse ed anche un orecchio non professionale si accorge subito della differenza.

[Epogdous]

@laurion69 No. Stiamo facendo due discorsi diversi. Non é una questione di "ripetizione" ma di prevedibilità, di applicazione di schemi pre-determinati, di strutture. Comunque, se ti interessa, la documentazione te l'ho fornita. Di nuovo, buona lettura.

[laurion69]

@Epogdous

Appunto, sono due discorsi diversi.

Hai voluto fare tu un parallelismo tra la musica pop che vende milioni di dischi (di facile accessibilità) e questo tipo di musica, che non ha relazione alcuna

.

[Epogdous]

@laurion69 Sai generelamente evito di aprire bocca solo per dargli fiato. Leggi il testo che ti ho consigliato e viedi che lo trovi pure tu "il parallelismo". Ancora una volta, buona lettura.

[laurion69]

@Epogdous

Sei fuori strada.

Non c'è alcun parallelismo tra l'oggetto dell'articolo di Boulez e le uniformità basate sulle tecniche di registrazione della musica pop e dance, che sono soltanto tecniche per accorciare o semplificare l'aspetto esecutivo del brano.

[Epogdous]

@laurion69 Ovviamente mi riferivo al testo di Hemmings che ti ho suggerito non so quanti post indietro laurion69...

[lovesGenet]

I love this music more and more everyday. Boulez espouses repetition..but I would like the opening cell to repeat so bad.I REALLY want to hear not just the cell but that fabulously invigorating leap.I want repetition.There is a lot of aggressivenes but I remember bits. i can play it however I want.I wish I could get a handle on writing like this!

[Klavierstuck]

What an unbelievably good pianist Pollini is! This is an astoundingly good performance......

[taparero]

pierre boulez is a musicien autiste

[Epogdous]

@valeguidilin Il tuo é un approccio molto maturo all'ascolto musicale. Oltre che condividerlo pienamente, lo vivo proprio sulla mia pelle quando sento il bisogno di qualcosa di diverso da cadenze e variazioni scontate, soluzioni armoniche prevedibili e ritmi sempre uguali. E' il dilemma di un orecchio appassionato! :D

[valeguidilin]

Ritengo infine che criticare qualcosa solo perchè " non si riesce a capire" sia oltremodo superficiale e inutile! Io ascolto più volentieri questa piano sonatas di una qualsiasi canzone pop non perchè sono più giusto o più intelligente di altri, solo perchè la mia evoluzionemusicale è diversa e ugualmente da rispettare!

[valeguidilin]

Quindi il piacere nell'ascoltare lamusica dipende fortemente dalle conoscenze soggettive, dai linguaggi musicali acquisiti. In questo caso non c'è alcun linguaggio musicale evidentemente riconoscibile dall'ascoltatore ( anche se per l'autore un linguaggio c'è). Personalmente penso che la stessa assenza di un linguaggio possa essere riconosciuto dall'ascoltatore stesso come un criterio di piacere nell'ascolto.

[valeguidilin]

Il piacere di ascoltare musica è determinato da fattori ben noti...in breve dipende dal riconoscimento da parte dell'ascoltatore di dterminate strutture armoniche e melodiche che già si sono acquisite, all'interno di un brano ( quando si prova un nuovo genere civogliono più ascolti per farselo piacere, cioè bisogna acquisirne il linguaggio per poter poi prevederlo ed emozionarsi) .

[PaoloCampa]

in questo momento sotto sotto flebo in endovena di Tchajkowsky, Rachmaninoff, Grieg Scriabin e altri ingredienti musicali simili come analgesico dopo aver ascoltato il Boulez brano ;-) e quindi stento a riprendermi

Proprio perchè è musica celebrale mi ha generato mal di testa ;-) avevo preso lo spartito di questa sonata nel 1983 circa e per educazione non racconto le mie reazioni Ora vado perchè durante la flebo devo stare fermo se no non agisce ;-)

[PaoloCampa]

con tutto il rispetto , innanzitutto sentendo questo brano mi è venuto un forte mal di testa..,,.. e mi permetto citare , a commento di questo..... indefinibile brano , le parole che il sommo vate Fantozzi Rag. Ugo aveva esplicitato a riguardo della Corazzata Potiomkin, a mia volta trasferendole per la sonata di Boulez

"Per me la sonata di Boulez è una.......pazzesca"

[Epogdous]

@PaoloCampa Da quando ho postato questa sonata ne ho sentite di tutti i colori, ma una citazione di Fantozzi era la prima volta! Mi dispiace per il tuo mal di testa. Non si può ascoltare Boulez con lo stesso approccio con cui si ascolta Debussy o altri. Non é musica che va subita passivamente, non é evocativa, non é emozionante. E' musica da seguire, cerebrale, volutamente complessa, sperimentale, insomma moderna (come vedi non così indefinibile!).

[japanesesweet]

this is passionate,angry music. I like the repeated notes,and trills. The only problem i have is that rhythmically,i find it a little stiff/pedantic. Babbitt's piano music in this respect i prefer.

I'm looking forward to pollini playing this sonata at the RFH.

[danieletiesse]

Regressione musicale, no, nemmeno, trasposizione musicale di una patologia mentale moderna, la dissociazione del'IO. Non è pessima musica questa, semplicemente non è più musica, il tentativo di applicare un'ideologia all'arte, è percepibile da chiunque in possesso del senso dell'udito come puro e semplice abominio. Che desolazione vedere l'arte della musica assoggettata al razionalismo più estremo. PS. i "secondo me" sono per le femminucce che non hanno il coraggio di esprimersi

[Epogdous]

@danieletiesse I "secondo me" sono un modo intelligente per esprimere opinioni soggettive. Ne avresti dovuto usare qualcuno nel commento, ad esempio.

[Wehwalt89]

@danieletiesse

Componi musica per caso? Credo proprio di no... comporre musica non è solo esprire sentimento, bellezza e tutte le panzane romantiche... comporre vuol dire sperimentare: sperimentava bach quando improvvisava, lo faceva Beethoven (quanto dovevano non sembrare musica le ultime sue sonate ai contemporanei), lo faceva Chopin (il preludio in mi b minore, il finale della II sonata), lo faceva Brahms (le sue frasi musicali ne sono un esempio), non parliamo poi di Debussy...

[Wehwalt89]

@danieletiesse

Boulez ha scritto questa sonata nel '47- '48, era già approdato al serialismo integrale; nel resto d'Europa era in atto una ricerca spaventosa che andava dalla musica concreta a quella elettronica, dall'alea al microtonalismo. Questa sonata è un documento storico del suo tempo esattamente come può esserlo il concerto n. 4 di Beethoven... Il "secondo me" non scritto domina nel sottofondo del tuo commento perchè dai un giudizio estetico non un giudizio culturale...

[dop216]

la sonata di Boulez è un brano insignificante e freddo, oltre che sgradevole assai. Bocciato in pieno.

[Epogdous]

@dop216 Mi dispiace che non ti piace. Però attento a non generalizzare. Non tutti ritengono che sia sgradevole. Su queste cose un "Secondo me..." all'inizio del commento risolve tutto! :)

[dop216]

@Epogdous

è inutile, pessima musica in tutti i sensi, se pensiamo alle grandi sonate di Haydn, Mozart, Beethowen, Schubert, che veramente hanno dato l'anima per produrre dei frutti eccellenti.

[Epogdous]

@dop216 Inutile cercare di convincerti del contrario. Ognuno é libero di avere la sua opionione. Ti chiedo solo di riflettere un po' sulla storia della musica. L'esistenza di questa "pessima musica" ha ragioni molto precise.

[dop216]

@Epogdous

La storia della musica va studiata e certamente esistono delle ragioni, ciò non toglie che questa musica non ha nulla, ma proprio minimamente nulla da spartire con la musica "vera"

[dop216]

@dop216

in ogni caso se io fossi stato un musicista moderno o contemporaneo non mi sarei piegato al costume odierno come tanti hanno fatto, magari tenendo nascoste senza averle fatto emergere in nome del conformismo alcune qualità che potevano avere (cito L.Berio ad es.). L'allievo Einaudi con i suoi sempilci brani invece scava molto ,ma molto più in profondità grazie al fatto di essere comunicativo col pubblico. Le Avanguardie sono state sempre chiuse al pubblico e sono appannaggio di pochi

[dop216]

@dop216

ma non significa che quei pochi sono superdotati intellettualmente mentre chi ama la grande musica dei geni del passato è un mediocre, è tutto il contrario!!!

[Epogdous]

@dop216 @jonbaum Nessuno pensa che sia un mediocre chi non apprezza questa musica. E sarebbe piuttosto triste credersi "superdotati intellettualmente" perché la si apprezza. Nessuno poi ha la pretesa di ritenere questa musica "emozionante". Non siamo automi. Io personalmente la ritengo interessante per quello che rappresenta storicamente: la conseguenza estrema della crisi musicale, partita come cromatismo, divenuta atonalità, quindi dodecafonia e infine serialismo. Non mi sembra complicato.

[dop216]

@dop216 

[jonbaum]

@dop216 Sono d'accordo con te. Musica senza emozioni.

[dop216]

@jonbaum

viva la sincerità, è bello pensare che ci sono persone che apprezzano la musica vera, non queste stupidaggini.

[jonbaum]

@dop216 Infatti è più rumore che musica

[dop216]

@jonbaum

fesserie musicali.

[follovvthesmoke]

epogdous wouldnt last a year without their fucking technology.

epogdous, your another worthless computer dependent lazy human

congratulations

[follovvthesmoke]

hahaha. fuck all human life

music is the only thing that matters until you die

[MrPlayboy00008]

Waww..

[13loodLust]

Screw this. Screw abstract art.

[Epogdous]

@13loodLust Why?

[chrismu5]

@Epogdous Because it is a waste of human effort. Effort in interpreting this junk could be spent on curing cancer.

[Epogdous]

@chrismu5 We're talking about music and art. I don't think that Pollini would be able to find a cure for cancer. Unfortuantely neither do Boulez. But there's something they both are able to do well: contributing to human culture. You are free to deny this fact. But it is part of our history.

[bidibum]

@Epogdous I don't love abstract art bu you won

[burningled]

@13loodLust Personally, I think it's wonderful background music. Sort of like white noise that doesn't hurt your ears.

[sugardaddy815]

Someone needs to explain to Mr Boulez that music is not mathematics.

It's not supposed to be a purely mental construct. It also has to have an emotional impact.

Boulez should take up pure mathematics or quantum physics, because music is not for passionless, donnish geeks like him.

[Epogdous]

@sugardaddy815 Music (and nature itself) is strictly connected to algebra. That's been known since Pythagora. Think that even the famous Debussy's "Reflets dans l'eau" is based on the golden ratio. And I'm quite sure you wouldn't rate it an emotionless piece of music. Serialism is just a compositional technique, with its rules, its results and above all its place in musical culture evolution, nothing less than harmonic counterpoint or improvisation. Then taste is subjective.

[bbnut]

@Epogdous

So we can do away with composers completely, then. Why do I need to call Boulez a master when I can program a computer to mathematically assign notes and pitches on an algorithm? Then use that same computer to compare its own composition to Boulez's? If they're very similar, I'll go with the computer and Boulez can get a real job. You can say that you feel Boulez's is more "emotional", but, of course, taste is subjective. I'll rely on computers in the future.

[Epogdous]

@bbnut Actually integral serialism was influential in the development of electronic music. Surely a computer may produce serial compositions, but here there's a human being who did that first. Serialism is just a cultural product with its causes and consequences. In a certain way it's like contemporary art. One may say: My 4 years son can easily make the same scrawl! I would answer: Ok so why hasn't been your son's scrawl exhibited before this one? :)

[xcracer2]

@sugardaddy815 you dont have to listen to it. lets hear your compositions.

[bknight917]

@sugardaddy815 I am truly shocked to see your comment about Mr Boulez being a passionless, donnish geek. Take it from some who has met Boulez, watched him conduct, and read several of his books, this man has more passion in his pinkie finger for music than most have within their whole body. Perhaps you don't like his compositions and that is fine however he is still most likely the greatest living musician in world and one of the main figures of the 20th and 21st century for classical music.

[clementj2005]

Autant la musique de O.Messiaen, dans le même courant musical, a un réel sens (Je vous conseille d'écouter par exemple le final de "La Nativité" : c'est la pièce numéro 9), autant là j'ai l'impression d'écouter mon petit neveu de 4 ans tapoter partout.

[jamiegirl27]

Amazing composition! ...Boulez is a great composer

[Zofzoeif]

Vous appelez ça de la musique ?

[Epogdous]

@Zofzoeif C'est ce qu'on appelle la musique sérielle. =]

[mikejr41387]

can anyone look at me, with a straight face, and explain the emotional value of this composition? I'm trying hard to understand but all i hear is ugly sounds. please help!!!

[Epogdous]

@mikejr41387 There is no emotional intent in this work. The thing that one should appreciate is the outstanding complexity of the compositional process, which is the result of the evolution of the musical thinking through ages. Every musical element of the entire sonata (pitch, rhythm, dynamics) is structured according to serial principles. Order and completeness. That's it! =]

[xodn3300]

thank you so much for uploading this and with the score is just awsome

[sdegrace]

Bon, j'ai 2 versions de la même pièce. J'ai essayé d'apprendre ça. Me suis découragée.

[Epogdous]

@sdegrace Never give up! =]

[nh76ao]

Merci!

It's wonderful to listen it following the score!!

[miura94]

Le comble de la mocheté

[v4liumfrance]

just noise omg

[Epogdous]

@v4liumfrance Exactly. Notes are just pitched noises! That's the reason why avantgarde composers began to get bored of always using the same twelve "noises"! =]

[MarcheseCadmio88]

I read that Yvonne Loriod started crying when understood how prohibitive this sonata was!

I think that only Sorabji's piano works reach this climax of difficulty...

[Hary015]

sucks

[timetwisterr]

note clash.

[skoppy08]

I think this piece is great, because if you try to write something like this it most probably won't sound like that at all! I guess it is very hard to change listening habits. Most people have their favourite song, band (rock, pop, metal...), or composer (classical, etc.) But this here is completely different and you can learn to listen to it, even to like it. You can find things in it, almost like a treasure chest. Though its like jumping into ice-cold water in order to find the treasure.

[Hibore222]

I know nothing about classical music, I just read a Wall St Journal interview two days w/ Pierre and the article mentioned how this piece was nearly unplayable.

[rvn10rvn17]

marc-andre hamelin can't play this!!

[Mpony70]

@rvn10rvn17 I'm sure he can, I'm also sure he just doesn't want to.

[fdaltrey]

No, he actually explicitly stated that he can't play this piece in an interview with Ethan Iverson called Do the Math. In addition, Hamelin considers this piece along with Gaspard de la Nuit as the pinnacles of 20th century piano. You can find that quote at colbertartist in pdf under his profile.

[afertyus1000]

@fdaltrey i just played it straight from here! piece of piss

[fdaltrey]

What you will not hear from Hamelin, live or on disc, is Pierre Boulez's Piano Sonata No. 2, which he considers one of the two pinnacles of 20th-century piano literature, the other being Ravel's Gaspard de la Nuit..."I expect never to play it."

But thats one case where I just abandoned the piece. Another one was the Boulez Second Sonata, which I didnt want to finish because the rhythmic complexities were too much for me.

[EdiEllerymissing]

So as Pollini... !!... ??... So what?

[jdbrown371]

Hamelin could play this with one hand.

[SevenCircles]

He learned parts of it but never performed it in public or recorded it.

[Endimione17]

Maybe the most difficult piece to play for piano every time

[guitarwizard6]

I understand that Pollini used to play this piece from memory! (He often coupled it with Beethoven's "Hammerklavier Sonata." Lordy...

[tommy9882]

Yvonne Loriod "is said to have burst into tears when faced with the prospect" of performing it

[roommaster]

Tears of happiness and joy, or rather pain and despair?

I myself am most amazed by this style of composing...