How old was Pierre Boulez when he wrote his notations?
Pierre Boulez’ Notations are not only fascinating works. They are also sonic witnesses to their times. They originated as piano pieces in 1945 when Boulez was just 20 years old. Between thirty and fif Pierre Boulez’ Notations are not only fascinating works. They are also sonic witnesses to their times.
What did Pierre Boulez mean by the number 12?
The design of Notations can be seen as a musical homage to the number 12: it consists of 12 short pieces, each of which is 12 bars long. Each of these miniatures has its own distinctive character, with sharp contrasts not only between the pieces but sometimes within a single piece.
How are the works of Boulez and Ravel related?
The aesthetic proximity between Boulez and Ravel is palpable. A glance at a single detail in one of the scores by Boulez (or Ravel) explains the ‘totality’, the aura and the form of the large-scale work.
When did Pierre Boulez take his first class?
In October 1944, after a few private preparatory lessons, Boulez entered Messiaen’s class, which he completed with a first prize in early summer the following year.
Where did Pierre Boulez do most of his work?
Born in Montbrison in the Loire department of France, the son of an engineer, Boulez studied at the Conservatoire de Paris with Olivier Messiaen, and privately with Andrée Vaurabourg and René Leibowitz. He began his professional career in the late 1940s as music director of the Renaud-Barrault theatre company in Paris.
When did Pierre Boulez go to the Conservatoire?
In October 1943, he auditioned unsuccessfully for the advanced piano class at the Conservatoire, but he was admitted in January 1944 to the preparatory harmony class of Georges Dandelot. His progress was so rapid that by May 1944, Dandelot’s report describes him as “the best of the class”.