Boulez: Sur Incises; Messagesquisse; Anthèmes 2

This Deutsche Grammaphon disc was originally released as part of the "20/21" series of contemporary music recordings, but as that series has now ended (apparently because only a limited number of the expensive paper boxes were produced) it thankfully appears again in the new Grand Prix series. It 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, a three-minute virtuoso piano solo that I prize even more than Ligeti's Etudes. Boulez 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, and throughout the original composition for piano solo can be heard underneath. "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 nonetheless. 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.

What we have here is a reissue of a DG 20/21 disc from 2000 in DG's new Grand Prix budget line. (DG's 20/21 contemporary line is apparently defunct, which is a loss.) It features the premiere recordings of what are still Pierre Boulez's most recent compositions, "Sur Incises" (37'06" -- 1996/1998), and "Anthemes 2" (20'27" -- 1997). Boulez himself conducts both works, plus another shorter work for solo cello and six cellos from 1976/1977.

"Sur Incises" is for three pianos, three harps and three vibraphones. It is a relentless work of pounding constructivism, and it is one of those pieces that I can respect, but cannot love, and don't tend to listen to often. I confess that I am not the most pianistically inclined of modern music fans. I can appreciate piano works, of course -- Ligeti's Etudes are fantastic, for instance (see my review of Aimard's performance in the Ligeti Edition on Sony). I just have a clear preference for the timbre of strings. Like Boulez's "Structures" and piano sonatas, it's an uphill struggle for me to really engage with "Sur Incises."

"Anthemes 2" for solo violin and electronics, on the other hand, I find enchanting. Hae-Sun Kang of the Ensemble Intercontemporain plays the lovely violin part, and Andrew Gerzso of IRCAM is responsible for the "electro-acoustic realization." This is one of my favorite Boulez pieces. As with "Dialogue" for clarinet and electronic double that follows "Repons" on the 1998 DG 20/21 disc (see my review), I prefer the "minor work" to the generally acclaimed "major work."

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 review). Apparently he is working on an "Anthemes 3," which will be a violin concerto for Anne-Sophie Mutter -- I look forward to it wholeheartedly!

Shouldn't Pierre Boulez be writing comfortably melodic music at this stage of his career? Shouldn't Boulez's avant-garde stylistic shenanigans be dead and buried at this late stage of the game? Furthermore, Boulez is over 80 years old now and could kick the bucket anytime in the near future! Yet, the old fart is still up to his crafty tricks. Messing with people's expectations, going down new paths and experimenting with unique sounds and compositional structures.

I haven't responded to much of Boulez's music, past and present. You can understand my complete surprise that I could quickly embrace the featured work on this album, "Sur Incises", so readily. The main thing about this particular piece is that Boulez is expressing a new momentum in this style which hasn't been around for sometime. You're not likely to hear much of post-Webernian philosophizing here. Instead Boulez was intrigued by music of perpetual motion in his conception of this piece. Making use of wonderfully evocative instrumentation, ( a bunch of percussion instruments ), really gives this music a vibe unlike any I've grown accustomed to with Boulez.

The remaining pieces on this album are not nearly as interesting. One has a cellist competing with himself, played back on a recording. None of the music is as structurally fascinating or istrumentally illuminating as "Sur Incises", a piece that even modern music haters might find sympathy with.

This recording is now re-released at mid-price in DG's new Grand Prix Du Disque sub-label, marking various releases past and present that have won that particular award. Here is some Boulez that is worth your time after all.