Vale Pierre Boulez, 90
‘It’s impossible to imagine contemporary music, and in fact the entire musical world, without Pierre Boulez.’ The Guardian
Pierre Boulez, one of the giants of contemporary modern music has died aged 90. Last March, the music world commemorated his 90th birthday with a raft of celebrations. Click here to read his 90th birthday interview in The Economist.
The French composer and conductor was also a prolific writer and brilliant pianist. An innovator in 20th an 21st century music, he founded and directed the Paris based Institut de Recherche et Coordination Acoustique/Musique (IRCAM).
Boulez was renowned for his interpretations of late 18th and 19th century repertoire. He conducted many of the world’s most famous orchestras including the Cleveland Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the Berlin and Vienna Philharmonics, the London Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestre de Paris, the Ensemble InterContemporain, the Mahler Chamber Orchestra and the Staatskapelle Berlin.
He conducted at Bayreuth many times and championed the operas of 20th composers like Janacek and Berg. A recording artist as well, he won an astonishing 26 Grammy Awards.
