Boulez Derive

Pierre Boulez - Complete Works (2013) {13CD Set Deutsche Grammophon 0289 480 6828 9}
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© 2013 Deutsche Grammophon | 0289 480 6828 9
Classical / Modern Classical / Avant-Garde / Electronic / Modern Composition

There seems something soberingly final about the title of Deutsche Grammophon's collection, which brings together recordings of all the music Pierre Boulez acknowledges, from the 12 Notations for piano of 1946 to Dérive 2, the churning, turbulent ensemble piece that reached its latest, 44-minute form in 2006. Boulez is now 88; his eyesight is known to be failing, and new works such as the Waiting for Godot opera planned for La Scala may never be fulfilled. Similarly, the scores long marked "work in progress" in his catalogue may for ever remain just that. As Claude Samuel says in his wonderfully perceptive and informative notes to the set, "more than anyone else's, Pierre Boulez's oeuvre has not known completion and never will". What's on these 13 discs, then, is likely to be the body of work on which Boulez's place in the history of 20th-century music will be assessed.

Amazon.com Customer Review
This Erato disc contains six generally minor works by Pierre Boulez. These works are minor in that they are less grand in their proportions but they are generally not minor in quality. The collection reminds me vaguely of the concept of "b-sides" in rock music, and just as with many rock acts, one feels that some gems are unfairly neglected. Two of the pieces here are among Boulez's earliest acknowledged works. The Sonatine for Flute and Piano and the Piano Sonata No. 1 both date from 1946, when Boulez was still trying to find his own sound going beyond the basis he found in the Second Viennese School. The Sonatine is inspired by Schoenberg's Chamber Symphony op. 9 in form and by Berg in its serial material, while both the Sonatine and the Piano Sonata find inspiration in Webern and Schoenberg for the virtuoso and "delirious" piano parts. The former is a rather unexciting work, I'd call it juvenalia even if Boulez thinks it worthy of preservation. However, the latter is a rich piece which displays new sides of itself on every listen. I quite enjoy Pierre-Laurent Aimard's performance here, it has a savagery to it unlike the methodical touch of Jumppanen or the nimbleness of Biret. The Ensemble Intercontemporain and BBC Singers perform, conducted by the composer himself. The pieces were recorded in the projection space at IRCAM, and so the sound quality is very good indeed. I heartily recommend this to the Boulez fan.

Pierre Boulez has been an exclusive artist with Deutsche Grammophon for over 20 years; his recording legacy with the label is immense. DG celebrate his 90th birthday with a 44-CD box set of his complete DG 20th century music recordings – an aspect of his work that lies at the heart of his achievement. ”The aim of music is not to express feelings but to express music. It is not a vessel into which the composer distills his soul drop by drop, but a labyrinth with no beginning and no end, full of new paths to discover, where mystery remains eternal.” – Pierre Boulez

Barenboim and Boulez celebrate Liszt’s 200th birthday with gripping readings of the Concertos no. 1 in E flat major and no. 2 in A major.