Customer Reviews

Boulez: Sur Incises/Messagesquisse/Anthèms 2

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I am willing to wager that when all the books are written on music in the late twentieth-early twenty-fisrt century, that the name of Pierre Boulez will rise far higher than his more famous (at the time being) contemporaries.

Boulez is an interpreter extrordinaire. His Debussy, Schoenberg, Messiaen, and Webern are among the best. And though many are apparently too deaf to hear it, his Mahler is a thing of greatness (just listen to the sixth).

As a composer Boulez is perhaps even more formidable. Repons, though influenced by Webern and Messiaen takes music to a whole new level.

The variety of Boulez' work is vast. Pli Selon Pli is the best piece of vocal writing since Mahler walked the earth. Eclat/Multiples ranks with the best works of Ravel and Debussy.

Yet Sur Incises is Boulez crowning achievement (so far). I cannot begin to fathom the kind of driving genius it takes to mould pieces like those included here. This is music like it was meant to be.

I give no comparison here...only recommendation. Get this disc.

This Deutsche Grammaphon disc, part of the "20/21" series of contemporary music recordings, contains three pieces by Pierre Boulez from the last quarter of the 20th century. Boulez's recent expansions of his venerable pieces from the 1950s ("Le Marteu Sans Maitre") and 1960s ("Pli Selon Pli") are increasingly overlong and plodding, but from this disc it's clear that the fresh pieces he's written lately are full of great energy and momentum, alongside the gorgeous warmth of mid-frequency sounds that has always been a hallmark of Boulez's art. This music uses all twelve tones, but it is never "dissonant", its formal scheme may be too complicated for some to grasp completely, but it's never noisy.

"Sur Incises" (1996/1998) for three pianos, three harps, and three percussion instruments is a two-movement expansion of Boulez's earlier "Incises" for solo piano. He had considered writing a piano concerto, but was frustrated that most of the orchestra can't match the piano's speed. So, in a nod to Stravinsky's "Les Noces", he added two more pianos, and brought in instruments which can mirror certain qualities of the piano. The form of the music consists of alternating tempos, one slow and meditative where one instrument often takes a spotlight while others accompany, the other wild and energetic where all nine instruments compete virgourously. "Sur Incises" requires great virtuosity, and is surely one of the most challenging pieces of contemporary music. The soloists of the Ensemble Intercontemporain handle it flawlessly. All in all, a fantastic piece. No wonder it won the Grawemeyer Award in 2001. I should mention that if you really dig "Sur Incises", there's a recent DVD in the Juxtapositions series that contains a very layman-friendly lecture by Boulez on the piece, as well as a complete performance by the same soloists as here.

"Messagequisse" for seven cellos (1977) dates from two decades before either of the other two pieces on this disc, but fits in very well here. Written for a solo cello backed up with a small cello ensemble, the piece begins with a slow mournful melody played on the primary cello with pizzicato accompaniment by the others. A very furiously bowed section follows, a contrast with much the same effect as in "Sur Incises". My only complaint is that it's a short piece, and it's really over before one has much time to come to grips with its intriguing soundworld. The following "Anthemes 2" for violin and electronics (1997) is much longer, an electronic expansion of a work originalyl for violin solo. In much the same way as Nono's "La lontanza...", here we have a violinist played against himself, and the direct "realness" of the living soloist stands in eerie opposition to the electronic sound. There's no ultimate form here, rather the work consists of a series of brief episodes, but each new exploration follows the last in a harmonious manner. For some reason, I'm especially tempted to compare this work to Unsuk Chin's "Xi" for electronics, but there's a much more human touch.

Along with the wild flute concerto "...explosante-fixe...", available on another DG disc, the material here makes for a great introduction to Boulez. If you've heard that he's only a snobbish intellectual who doesn't understand the concept of fun, these pieces will quickly show you that his art is entirely in tune with a desire to rock out.

'sur incises' is a colouristic tour de force:twangy harps adding bite to the numerous toccata passages and unearthly steel drums amid the dying resonances of piano chords:it's all glamorous stuff,springing from the highly ornamented tradtion of french music (couperin)mixed with impressionism and the cooler waters of Webern for the final twist.Boulez once derided Shostakovich as being like a third pressing of Mahler and i kind of know where he's coming from when listening to this disc of his own work (it takes one to know one!)
Still,there's plenty to enjoy here though i prefer the works from the 60's when the rhythmical language was less straightjacketed and formally irregular.

I confess that I am not the most pianistically inclined of modern music fans. I can appreciate piano works, of course, it's not all or nothing (Ligeti's Etudes are fantastic, for instance, see my 6/11/03 review of Aimard's performance), I just have a clear preference for the timbre of strings. So I'm sure that is part of the explanation for why, as with Boulez's piano sonatas and "Structures," it's an uphill struggle for me to really engage with "Sur Incises" (1996/98) for 3 pianos, 3 harps and 3 vibraphones. It is a relentless work of pounding constructivism, and it is one of those pieces that I can respect but cannot love.

Fortunately this disc, which includes what are still the two most recent Boulez compositions to be recorded (along with "Messagesquisse" for 6 cellos from 1977), also includes "Anthemes 2" (1997) for solo violin and electronics. Performed by Hae-Sun Kang with Andrew Gerzso on IRCAM electronics, I find it to be one of Boulez's better pieces. As with "Dialogue" for clarinet and electronic double that follows "Repons" on the 1998 DG disc (see my 7/13/01 review), I prefer the minor work to the major.

Is it perhaps the case that Boulez has an under-utilized talent for the concerto form? Certainly "...explosante-fixe...", an electro-acoustic flute concerto, is one of his best works (see my 3/19/05 review). Apparently he is working on an "Anthemes 3" which will be a violin concerto for Ann-Sophie Mutter -- I look forward to it wholeheartedly!

Boulez's creativity has always been fascinated with a musical situation where the materials imply themselves, where layers,textures,timbres can reproduce themselves,where the materials generate themselves,and take essentially a life of their own. And here in these three relatively modest works we find Boulez almost harboring etude-like substances and implications.

Sur Incises for instance implies a sensual poetic beauty,a dimension Boulez has engaged his entire creative life. He brings this profound dimension to the modernist repertoire he conducts as well. Knowing the various harmonics possibilities in strings,or alternate fingering in winds. But here in Sur Incises the opening piano tyrannical cell of an idea makes an entire galaxy of sound,very subtle cohere to it, like an uncompromising polar fixed point, where timbres can fly and emanate,and reproduce themselves. The marimba,its fast quips,especially its lower regions here is simply breathtaking, what it suggests,perhaps an attenuated timbre from a lost island. The work, the first movement "Moment 1" here is deeply evocative with a high level of shards,fragments,particles of timbres that cohere. The constituted timbres here of three pianos, three harps, and percussion is a fascinating situation in and of itself. The second movement "Moment 2"is more a surface piece with its reiterated tones is not as evocative, more music that simply moves in one-dimension. The reiterated tones reminded me of the Debussy's piano etude"pour les notes repetees".

The title "Messagesquisse",is a portmanteau word a hybrid of "messages" and "esquisse"(sketches). It is for 7 violoncellos,where there is soloist,like a spine directing the dimensions,the shape of the work. And this functions quite well, where the leader commences the timbral proceedings,as in the opening ethereal harmonics,and everyone follows. The work has a shape like a modest etude, yet it seems to transcend that,with its multi-movement implications,and resting points.Yet the work simply traverses its materials fairly within well prescribed boundaries,with easy discernable functions. The work is dedicated to Paul Sacher,long a close supporter of Boulez in the early days when his genius was a well guarded secret.

The solo violin as a genre has never been an interesting situation. Sebastian Bach of course has the Sonatas and Partitas, yet the Violoncello Suites seem to climb the heavens by comparison. Bartok's Unaccompanied Solo Sonata is another profound contribution to the literature. Also modern Violin Concertos are not in great abundance. And those who usually write one, only write one, Stravinsky,Berg,Schoenberg,Bartok, Barber,Adams. Within the perspective of a modernist extended musical language even Luigi Nono's work "La lontananza nostalgica utopica futura" where a solo violin is scoured with prerecorded material of it,which is electronically manipulated,(as here in Boulez Anthemes) is not an interesting piece. I didn't sense sophisticated manipulation here of the violin timbre. The trill sections,and on-going rush of tones are simply reverberated and smeared,where the rhythm is displaced by a beat, or half-beat. The electronics as well doesn't retransform the violin timbre in any way interesting,with its simple ascending glissandi .Within the large spectrum of electronic manipulation this is fairly commonplace. The import of the title should have suggested something more interesting, the haunting strophic psalm setting, the Anthemes.Still this is again like an etude,and a good one in the simple transformations. Yet I can see innumerable clones of this piece,if they haven't been written already.

Yes, Boulez is difficult. But much of what Boulez has written is (regardless of his own take on it) deeply beautiful, shimmering, coloristic, though superbly proportioned and developed - and I completely agree with those who refuse to let the composer's own rather pretentious explanations get in the way of enjoying the music. Still, there is no denying the radical departures not only from traditional forms, but also from the way of looking at music, such as the open-ended forms or the idea of labyrinthine structures opening up an almost endless series of new possibilities and strange directions for the music to take.

Anthèmes 2 could be listened to as a series of beautiful shapes produced by a solo violin pitted against a sonically augmented violin ensemble. Steve Schwartz has helpfully suggested listening to it as a theme and variations work, though "theme" might be less precise than a group of aural and musical ideas (apparently representing two very different sound worlds or languages). Each "variation" (or strophe) is capped by what strikes one as an antithesis to the theme, and the work ends in a longer discursive section between characters representing the different sound worlds, gradually melding around a single note. It is, as mentioned, a beautiful, aurally imaginative work but interestingly, despite its complex formal excursions it is not without a wry sense of humor.

Messagesquisse involves a solo cello pitted against a cello ensemble, and in this instance the solo role is more clearly distinct from the ensemble than in Anthèmes 2. Messagesquisse is similarly based on a group of ideas; one is a musical take on the name "Sacher", another the device of moto perpetuo. The result is a busy, quirky work in which Boulez expertly keeps the potentially massive sound of a cello ensemble from clogging; the textures are actually rather airy despite the contrapuntal complexities and the result is an almost buoyant work of refined virtuosity and although it might be difficult to keep track of exactly where it is going and why there are enough incidents to keep the attentive listener absorbed.

Sur Incises is probably the masterpiece here. Scored for three pianos, three harps and percussion (three players), it creates a remarkable soundworld that Boulez keeps in check with a masterly hand. Despite the glittering brilliance and contrapuntal intricacies of the work all the lines are kept clean and clear, but with the lines and the resulting soundworld always in kaleidoscopic transformation, even though all of the shapes, motifs and aural effects are ingeniously linked. The first (of two) movements opens broodingly, with a series of ideas laid out and carefully investigated, only to be caught up in an almost breathless maelstrom toward the end of the movement in which, if you paid attention, you will see the ideas previously mulled over be hurled around in an exhilarating display of color. The second movement is quick-paced and restless, almost relentless, with a series of cadenzas for the pianos are pitted against each other with cadenzas for percussion and harp adding to the fray - but again Boulez ensure that the textures never get so complex that one lose sight of the individual lines.

To my ears the performances sound spectacular (though to be fair I am not sure I would be able to recognize if they skipped a trick or two given that I don't have the scores). Anthèmes and Messagesquisses are beautifully realized, and surely the virtuosic display in Sur Incises, in particular, is breathtaking, precise and clear and brilliant. The recorded sound is superbly balanced as well. Although I recognize that Boulez's music is a hard sell to many, I suspect this relates in part to the slightly haughty post-modernist theoretical ramblings often surrounding it, and while I don't deny that the music is, indeed, difficult and does require concentration and thought, I would strongly encourage curious listeners to take the chance. And the disc at hand can be recommended with some enthusiasm.

Pierre Boulez is gaining so much attention for his disarmingly insightful recordings of the masters that too often we forget that he remains one of the most important composers of the last century and this one. This recording is all Boulez - composed and conducted by the master. While the 'Anthemes II', for violin and electronics is a fascinating work and the 'Messagesquisse' for solo cello and six cellos are intricate and push the limits of creativity to the brink, the major work her is the rather lengthy 'sur Incises' written for 3 pianos, 3 harps, 3 percussionists (2 vibraphones and 1 marimba). At a recent concert played as a tribute to Ernest Fleischmann who served many years as the CEO of the LA Philharmonic, three conductors presented works created with Fleishmann in mind. Pierre Boulez conducted a performance of 'sur Incises' that seemed fleetingly fast and extraordinarily intriguing. There is so much color and internal conversation among the three groups of instruments that attention never flags. Would that that performance could find a recording!

In a time where there is so much emphasis on the young people in the arts it is a pleasure to re-visit the elder statesmen such as Pierre Boulez and find challenge and refreshment in their genius gifts to the music world. Grady Harp, March 11

While I can not add much to the masterly ginz1's review below, I thought I might add a few more notes.

First, I think Sur Incises is Boulez's best piece in many years. After Repons and the recorded version of ...explosante-fixe..., this is his first large-scale work not to employ electronics. I think it is the best. While I like the other two tremendously, Repons of often strikes me as more of an IRCAM display-model, while ...ef... at times seems to me extremely dense and inscrutable (maybe over-scored?) in terms of its actual sound, which is strange given Pierre's desire for clarity.

Sur Incises, however, is complete and clear. In some ways it seems a late 90s version of Eclat/Multiples, but there is no real connection. The climax of Moment 2 is the most dramatic and powerful music he has ever written. The idiom is distlled Boulez, all the best bits are refined then 'proliferated', everything else jettisoned. Perhaps the most astonishing thing is that after some forty years of incomplete projects, except the one-off Ritual, he has written what seems a complete piece. (Although we may one day hear Sur Sur Incises!)

My only dissapointment is that DG did not include either Incises for Piano, which would have fit, and/or Anthemes 1 for violin, which may not. Happily, though, you can hear a new recording of Anthemes 1 for free at the andante.com Boulez page. They are interesting to compare. Indeed, as much as I enjoy electronics (and I really do), I find myself at times tending to prefer the original...

For those interested, DG are releasing a new (third) recording of Pli Selon Pli next year with Boulez, the wonderful Christine Schaefer, and the Ensemble InterContemporain. It will probably be Boulez's last word on the piece. Also, he is taking time off from conducting to complete among other things his orchestral Notations, and is writing Anthemes 3 for violin (I think for Anne-Sophie Mutter?)and ensemble or orchestra.

So let's hope Pierre stops recording Bruckner symphonies and other such stuff, and does an Elliott Carter. Hearing Sur Incises makes me hope he has got a few more pieces left in him yet!

Okay, if you haven't had a chance to see it, the anonymous comedian has also reviewed Repons, so it's worth checking out. Just wanted to clear a few things though....

First, although the mock-country talk was really cute (including the walmart cut-out thing), it is really hard to imagine that everyone who loves this music is really lacking in sophistication. In fact, coming from a region of the country where, well how can I put it, people speak that way, I find it sort of insulting to hear it aped by such an obvious pseudo-intellectual.

The music is really quite beautiful, and probably the most easily accessible of Boulez's compositions (it would be, along with Maitre sans Marteau, the piece I would recommend to new listeners). It is not as long or ambient as Pli Selon Pli or Repons, and it really doesn't take long to appreciate the logic of the instrumentation (Percussion imitating pianos). It's also a very accessible example of the 12 tone serial music of the twentieth century, so if you're curious about music after Mahler, you won't be disappointed. And as far as it sounding like day dreams before you nod off, it's probably going to require a little more effort than dreaming.

Also, the humorous attempt at a country pronunciation of Boulez (Boulay) is an interesting misnomer--it's attempting to idiotize the pronunciation of a name that he is already mispronouncing (Boul-ez, just like it's written, not 'Ay' like 'chez'--oh and your French is lacking. What is 'let the good times' supposed to mean?)

"Thoughts that arrive on doves feet rule the world"

So wrote Friedrich Nietzsche, and it is these words that come to mind when I listen to this work that culitvates ultra-refined chamber music texture to the nth degree of refinement as "Sur Incise". As with J.S. Bach, Boulez's utterances at times seem lost on his contemporaries or dismissed as mere academic exercises. So what a pleasure it is to be there in Boulez's time and to be able to be one of the few in our time privileged enough to be granted the keys to enter and explore the magical secret garden of Boulez's exquisite sound-world in awe and with total sympathy. Never have I been so utterly fascinated by any work by Boulez since discovering his "Pli Selon Pli". Every note of "Sur Encise" seems to be a poem in itself, understated yet infinitely evocative and complete in itself. This is a work whose hushed profundity seems to have been whispered almost unnoticed to a busy jet setting age, yet is all the more powerful in its impact for all that. Indeed this is truly a work for our age as no other, and which will perhaps one day be recognized as Boulez's greatest work.

Truly, I have no higher praise.