Post on 10-Jul-2016
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PierreBoulez
(bornMarch
26,1925)
beganpiano
lessonsand
demonstrated
aptitudein
bothmusic
andmathem
atics.Hepursued
thelatter
atLyonbefore
pursuingmusic
attheParis
Conservatoireunder
Olivier
Messiaen
andthe
wife
ofArthur
Honegger,
Andree
Vaurabourg.
Itwasthrough
Messiaen
thathediscovered
twelve-tone
technique-which
hewould
laterstudy
privatelywith
ReneLeibow
itz-and
went
ontowrite
atonalmusic
inapost-W
ebernianserial
style.Boulez
wasinitially
partofacadre
ofearly
supportersofLeibow
itz,but
duetoanaltercation
with
Leibowitz,
theirrelations
turneddivisive,
asBoulez
spentmuch
ofhis
careerprom
otingthe
music
ofMessiaen
instead.The
firstfruits
ofthis
were
hiscantatas
Levisage
nuptialand
Lesoleil
deseaux
forfem
alevoices
andorchestra,
bothcom
posedinthe
late1940s
andrevised
severaltimessince,
aswell
asthe
SecondPiano
Sonataof1948,a
well-received
32-minute
work
thatBoulez
composed
atthe
ageof23.Thereafter,
Boulezwasinfluenced
byMessiaen's
researchtoextend
twelve-tone
techniquebeyond
therealm
ofpitch
organization,serialising
durations,dynam
ics,mode
ofattack,
andsoon.This
techniquebecam
eknow
nasintegral
serialism.
Boulezquickly
becameone
ofthe
philosophicalleaders
ofthe
post-warmovem
entinthe
artstow
ardsgreater
abstractionand
experimentation.
Many
composers
ofBoulez's
generationtaught
attheInternationale
FerienkursefUrNeue
Musik
inDarm
stadt,Germ
any.The
so-calledDarm
stadtSchool
composers
were
instrumental
increating
astyle
that,for
atime,existed
asanantidote
tomusic
ofnationalist
fervor;aninternational,
evencosm
opolitanstyle,
astyle
thatcould
notbe'co-opted'
aspropaganda
inthe
waythat
theNazis
used,for
example,
themusic
ofLudw
igvan
Beethoven.Boulez
wasincontact
with
many
youngcom
poserswhowould
becomeinfluential,
includingJohn
Cageand
Karlheinz
Stockhausen.Early
inhis
career,heperform
edasaspecialist
onthe
ondesMartenot.