By Sedgwick Clark<\/b><\/p>\n
Pierre Boulez turned 90 last week, on March 26. At first he struck fear in the ears of traditional concertgoers. But by his eighties he was hailed as a grand old man of music, in demand by all the major orchestras of the world. Fortunately, Boulez\u2019s performing career is well documented, and his recording companies have celebrated his birthday in rare form with several box sets that include nearly his entire recorded output.<\/p>\n
Boulez the\u00a0Enfant Terrible.\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>He revealed the lineage of 20th-century composition like no one else. His earliest recordings, dating from 1958-67, are with Domaine Musical, the French ensemble he formed in 1954. Works by Schoenberg, Berg, Webern, Var\u00e8se, Messiaen, Stravinsky, and his own music (including two recordings of Le Marteau sans Ma\u00eetre<\/i>) <\/i>dominate the recorded Domaine repertoire. A smattering of his modernist contemporaries, Pousseur, Stockhausen, Berio, Henze, Cage, and others are included. Also included is a performance of Stravinsky\u2019s Agon<\/i>, with Hans Rosbaud conducting the Orchestre du Sudwestfunk, Baden-Baden. Deutsche Grammophon has handily gathered all these recordings on a 10-CD set, allowing us to jettison our crackly budget LPs at last.<\/p>\n The New York Philharmonic Years.\u00a0<\/strong>Columbia Records signed Boulez in 1967 to record 20th-century repertoire, which is now all available on Sony Classical on a 67-CD set, primarily performed by the New York Philharmonic and London\u2019s BBC Symphony. Boulez felt that before audiences could understand the music of the present, they must be conversant with contemporary composers\u2019 historical forebears. Hence, these recordings concentrate on the works of Debussy, Ravel, Bart\u00f3k, Berg, Schoenberg, Webern, Var\u00e8se, and Stravinsky; several of Boulez\u2019s own works and Luciano Berio\u2019s are included as well. Sony missed an opportunity, however, to include a never-before-released Boulez recording of Debussy\u2019s Symphonic Fragments from The Martyrdom of St. Sebastien<\/i>. Unedited tapes of a New York Philharmonic studio recording lie fallow in Sony\u2019s icebox, never released for lack of an LP discmate; I recall the live performance as luminous. Sony\u2019s CD reissues back in the ’80s by George Kadar were not transferred from the original analogue master tapes and betrayed light hiss levels that could have been avoided. Sony’s p.r. release for the box set claims that the recordings were mastered from original sources. I’m skeptical, but I’ll suspend judgment until I\u2019ve heard the box set.<\/p>\n Warner’s Erato Set.\u00a0<\/strong>Boulez\u2019s departure as music director of the New York Philharmonic in 1977 for Paris to head up the contemporary-music organization IRCAM effectively ended his Columbia contract. The French label Erato stepped in during the 1980s to fill gaps in the conductor\u2019s discography by Stravinsky (Pulcinella<\/i>, Le Rossignol<\/i>, L\u2019Histoire du soldat<\/i>), Schoenberg (Violin and Piano Concertos), and several important Boulez works\u2014all now available in a 14-CD box released by Warner Classics. Perhaps one of these days Warner will also reissue Boulez\u2019s early-1970s EMI recordings of Bart\u00f3k\u2019s Piano Concerto Nos. 1 and 3 with Daniel Barenboim and Berg\u2019s Violin Concerto and the two Bart\u00f3k Violin Rhapsodies with Yehudi Menuhin.<\/p>\n DG’s Class Act.\u00a0<\/strong>In 1990, Deutsche Grammophon signed the composer\/conductor to undoubtedly the most fruitful of his recording contracts. DG pulled out all the stops for Boulez, enlisting the Chicago Symphony for Bart\u00f3k and Stravinsky, the Berlin Philharmonic for Ravel and Webern, the Cleveland Orchestra for Debussy and Stravinsky, the Vienna Philharmonic and Cleveland for Mahler\u2019s symphonies and the song cycles, and the Ensemble Intercontemporain for his own works and those by Ligeti and Birtwistle. The Columbia recordings were very impressive for their revelation of Boulez’s incredible ear for detail, but I well recall being blown sideways by DG’s addition of spectacular digital sonics and Rolls Royce orchestras. I’m still amazed.<\/p>\n Not all the works recorded by the New York and BBC orchestras on Columbia in the late 1960s and \u201970s were re-recorded by DG. Boulez never got around to re-doing Schoenberg\u2019s Gurre-Lieder<\/i>, for example, but he did re-record a superb Moses und Aron <\/i>with none other than the Royal Concertgebouw! <\/i>Thus, Boulez fans will need all these commemorative sets on their shelves.<\/p>\n DG has also released an elegantly designed seven-CD set of all of Boulez\u2019s music, which includes the Erato recordings of Boulez works that he never recorded for DG to make this set note-complete.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Domaine Musical recordings (1958-1967) on Deutsche Grammophon<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n CD 1:\u00a0<\/b>Le concert du 10\u00e8 anniversaire<\/b><\/p>\n Karlheinz Stockhausen (1928 – 2007)<\/p>\n Kontra-Punkte Opus 1<\/a> Pierre Boulez, Solistes du Domaine Musical<\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Luciano Berio (1925 – 2003)<\/p>\n Serenata 1 Pour Fl\u00fbte Et 14 Instruments<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n Severino Gazzelloni, Pierre Boulez, Solistes du Domaine Musical<\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Pierre Boulez (1925 – )<\/p>\n Le Marteau sans Ma\u00eetre<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n Jeanne Deroubaix, Solistes du Domaine Musical, Pierre Boulez<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Olivier Messiaen (1908 – 1992)<\/p>\n Oiseaux Exotiques<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n Yvonne Loriod, Rudolf Albert, Orchestre Du Domaine Musical<\/b><\/p>\n Total CD Playing Time: 1:07:47 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n CD 2: Les r\u00e9f\u00e9rences fran\u00e7aises<\/b><\/p>\n Claude Debussy (1862 – 1918)<\/p>\n Syrinx Pour Fl\u00fbte Seule<\/a>\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Edgar Var\u00e8se (1885 – 1965)<\/p>\n Densit\u00e9 21, 5, Pour Fl\u00fbte Seule<\/a>\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n Severino Gazzelloni<\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Hyperprisme, Pour Petit Orchestre Et Percussions<\/a>\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n Pierre Boulez, Orchestre Du Domaine Musical<\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Octandre<\/span>\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n Pierre Boulez, Jacques Castagner, Claude Maisonneuve, Guy Deplus, Marcel Naulais, Andr\u00e9 Rabot, Andr\u00e9 Fournier, Roger Delmotte, Ren\u00e9 Allain, Jacques Cazauran<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Int\u00e9grales, Pour Petit Orchestre Et Percussion<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n <\/b>Pierre Boulez, Orchestre Du Domaine Musical<\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Olivier Messiaen (1908 – 1992)<\/p>\n Cant\u00e9yodjaya<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n Yvonne Loriod<\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Sept Haikai<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n Les Percussions De Strasbourg, Orchestre Du Domaine Musical, Pierre Boulez, Yvonne Loriod<\/strong><\/p>\n Total CD Playing Time: 1:02:37 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n CD 3: Le compositeur Pierre Boulez<\/b><\/p>\n Pierre Boulez (1925 – )<\/p>\n Structures, Livre 1 et 2 Pour 2 Pianos<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n Aloys Kontarsky, Alfons Kontarsky<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Sonatine Pour Fl\u00fbte Et Piano<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n <\/b>Severino Gazzelloni, David Tudor<\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Piano Sonata No.2<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n Yvonne Loriod<\/strong><\/p>\n Total CD Playing Time: 58:09 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n CD 4: Les compagnons de route<\/b><\/p>\n Mauricio Kagel (1931 – 2008)<\/p>\n Sextuor \u00e0 cordes<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n Pierre Boulez, Solistes du Domaine Musical<\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Luigi Nono (1924 – 1990)<\/p>\n Incontri, Pour 24 Instruments<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n Pierre Boulez, Orchestre Du Domaine Musical<\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Hans Werner Henze (1926 – 2012)<\/p>\n Concerto Per Il Marigny<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n <\/b>Yvonne Loriod, Rudolf Albert, Orchestre Du Domaine Musical<\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Henri Pousseur (1929-2009)<\/p>\n Madrigal III<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n Guy Deplus, G\u00e9rard Jarry, Michel Tournus, Jean-Charles Francoise, Diego Masson, Fabienne Boury<\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Mobiles, Pour 2 Pianos<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n <\/b>Aloys Kontarsky, Alfons Kontarsky<\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Karlheinz Stockhausen (1928 – 2007)<\/p>\n Zeitmasse, Op.5<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n <\/b>Jacques Castagner, Claude Maisonneuve, Paul Taillefer, Guy Deplus, Andr\u00e9 Rabot<\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Klavierst\u00fcck VI, Op.4\/II<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n <\/b>David Tudor<\/b><\/p>\n Total CD Playing Time: 1:12:45 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n CD 5: Igor Stravinsky<\/b><\/p>\n Igor Stravinsky (1882 – 1971)<\/p>\n Concertino pour 12 instruments<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n <\/b>Pierre Boulez, Jacques Parrenin, Pierre Penassou, Jacques Castagner, Claude Maisonneuve, Paul Taillefer, Guy Deplus, Andr\u00e9 Rabot, Jean-Pierre Laroque, Pierre Pollin, Jacques Lecointre, Ren\u00e9 Allain, Maurice Suzan<\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Three Pieces for solo Clarinet<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n Guy Deplus<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n 3 Pieces for String Quartet<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n Quatuor Parrenin, Jacques Parrenin, Jacques Ghestem, Michel Wales, Pierre Penassou<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Symphonies d’instruments \u00e0 vent<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n <\/b>Orchestre Du Domaine Musical, Pierre Boulez<\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Renard<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n <\/b>Pierre Boulez, Jean Giraudeau, Louis Devos, Louis Jacques Rondeleux, Xavier Depraz, Elemer Kiss, Orchestre Du Domaine Musical<\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Agon<\/span> – Ballet (1957)<\/b><\/p>\n Orchestre Du Sudwestfunk Baden-Baden, Hans Rosbaud<\/strong><\/p>\n Total CD Playing Time: 1:01:39 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n CD 6: L’\u00e9cole de Vienne I. De 1899 \u00e0 1912<\/b><\/p>\n Arnold Schoenberg (1874 – 1951)<\/p>\n Verkl\u00e4rte Nacht, Op.4<\/span> –\u00a0<\/b>Version for String Sextet<\/b><\/p>\n Jacques Parrenin, Marcel Charpentier, Denes Marton, Serge Collot, Pierre Penassou, Michel Tournus<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Anton Webern (1883 – 1945)<\/p>\n Six pieces for orchestra, Op.6<\/span> – <\/b>Original version (1909)<\/b><\/p>\n Orchestre Du Sudwestfunk Baden-Baden, Hans Rosbaud<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Arnold Schoenberg (1874 – 1951)<\/p>\n Three Pieces for Chamber Orchestra<\/span> (1910)<\/b><\/p>\n Pierre Boulez, Orchestre Du Domaine Musical<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Pierrot Lunaire, Op.21<\/span> (1912)<\/b><\/p>\n Pierre Boulez, Helga Pilarczyk, Maria Bergmann, Jacques Castagner, Guy Deplus, Louis Montaigne, Luben Yordanoff, Serge Collot, Jean Huchot<\/strong><\/p>\n Total CD Playing Time: 1:14:08 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n CD 7: L’\u00e9cole de Vienne II. De 1906 \u00e0 1943<\/b><\/p>\n Alban Berg (1885 – 1935)<\/p>\n Sonate Pour Piano Op. 1<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n <\/b>Yvonne Loriod<\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n 3 Pieces for Orchestra, Op.6<\/strong><\/span> (<\/strong>Revised version of 1929)<\/b><\/p>\n Hans Rosbaud, Orchestre Du Sudwestfunk Baden-Baden<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Arnold Schoenberg (1874 – 1951)<\/p>\n Kammersymphonie N\u00b0 1 Op.9<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n <\/b>Pierre Boulez, Solistes du Domaine Musical<\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Anton Webern (1883 – 1945)<\/p>\n 2 Songs op.8 for voice and eight instruments<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n Pierre Boulez, Orchestre Du Domaine Musical, Jeanne H\u00e9ricard<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n 4 Songs op.13 for voice and orchestra<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n Jeanne H\u00e9ricard, Orchestre Du Domaine Musical, Pierre Boulez<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n I. Kantate op.29 for soprano, mixed chorus and orchestra<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n II. Kantate op.31 for soprano solo, bass solo, mixed chorus and orchestra<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n Chorale Elisabeth Brasseur Versailles, Orchestre Du Domaine Musical, Pierre Boulez, Ilona Steingruber, Xavier Depraz<\/strong><\/p>\n Total CD Playing Time: 1:13:51 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n CD 8: L’\u00e9cole de Vienne III. Le s\u00e9rialisme<\/b><\/p>\n Arnold Schoenberg (1874 – 1951)<\/p>\n Serenade for Septet & Bass Voice, Op.24<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n Pierre Boulez, Guy Deplus, Louis Montaigne, Paul Grund, Paul Stingl, Luben Yordanoff, Serge Collot, Jean Huchot, Louis Jacques Rondeleux<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Suite, Op.29<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n Pierre Boulez, Jacques Ghestem, Marcel Naulais, Guy Deplus, Louis Montaigne, Luben Yordanoff, Serge Collot, Jean Huchot<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Anton Webern (1883 – 1945)<\/p>\n Variations for Piano, Op.27<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n Yvonne Loriod<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Symphony, Op.21<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n Pierre Boulez, Orchestre Du Domaine Musical<\/strong><\/p>\n Total CD Playing Time: 1:10:06 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n CD 9: III\u00e8 concert – Saison 1956<\/b><\/p>\n Giovanni Gabrieli (1553 – 1612)<\/p>\n Canzon duodecimi toni a 8, No 5, C. 174<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n Canzon septimi toni \u00e0 8 (Sacrae symphoniae 1597, No.3)<\/b><\/a><\/b><\/p>\n Igor Stravinsky (1882 – 1971)<\/p>\n Symphonies of Wind Instruments<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n Rudolf Albert, Orchestre Du Domaine Musical<\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Hans Werner Henze (1926 – 2012)<\/p>\n Concerto Per Il Marigny<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n Olivier Messiaen (1908 – 1992)<\/p>\n Oiseaux Exotiques<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n Yvonne Loriod, Rudolf Albert, Orchestre Du Domaine Musical<\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Jean-Claude Eloy (1938 – )<\/p>\n Equivalences<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n Pierre Boulez, Solistes du Domaine Musical, Les Percussions De Strasbourg<\/b><\/p>\n Total CD Playing Time: 46:56 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n CD 10: Une histoire d’amiti\u00e9s…<\/b><\/p>\n 1. La gen\u00e8se \/ [Le Domaine Musical]<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n 2. Domaine musical, ann\u00e9e z\u00e9ro \/ [Le Domaine Musical]<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n 3. Le r\u00e9pertoire \/ [Le Domaine Musical<\/a>]<\/b><\/p>\n 4. Les r\u00e9f\u00e9rences \/ [Le Domaine Musical]<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n 5. Les compagnons de route \/ [Le Domaine Musical]<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n
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