Pierre Boulez

Pierre Boulez

Biography

Pierre Boulez (26 March 1925, Montbrison, France – 5 January 2016, Baden-Baden, Germany) is a French composer, conductor, writer, and pianist.

Boulez was a trailblazing avant-garde composer who made great contributions to serialism, controlled chance, and electronic music. When conducting, he was known for rhythmic precision and ability discern faulty pitch in even the most complex works. He was particularly noted for his interpretations of such composer as Debussy, Mahler, and Stravinsky.

Boulez as musical adviser of the Cleveland Orchestra from 1970 to 1972, chief conductors of the BBC Symphony Orchestra from 1971 to 1975, and music director of the New York Philharmonic from 1971 to 1977. He won 26 Grammy Awards during his career.

Works for Winds

• Initiale (1987)
• Fanfare for the 80th Birthday of Georg Solti (1992)

Resources

• "In Memoriam." The Instrumentalist 70(7), p. 12.
• Pierre Boulez - Wikipedia