Boulez

Summary

Dominique Pagani mainly refers to Pierre Boulez as the conductor of the centenary Ring at Bayreuth, staged by Chéreau. This is the version he follows in his sessions on Wagner1. He praises the transparency of this conducting and its exceptional sense of sound balance2, but regrets that the video release, often underexposed, renders it poorly. He also associates Boulez with the "slimmed-down" Wagner that is fashionable today3. In Penser la musique aujourd'hui, he recognizes a great conductor and teacher, but sees in his discourse a caricature of anti-Romantic neoclassicism. He describes him as a purist full of contradictions: insulting toward Wagner in his youth, then his apologist after conducting the Ring4. He takes from him the idea that Wagner's music moves forward without ever going back, which Boulez considers modern, like the endless melody5. Finally, he notes Boulez's regret at Schoenberg's return to traditional forms and his use of Mallarmé in Pli selon pli. He also points to the budgetary weight of IRCAM.

1. 1#9.18 Twilight of the Gods, or from repetition to liberation3 Apr 2021 · 2:43
2. 2Hesitation fascinated by hearing and by sight: Siegfried and Perceval12 Dec 2022 · 1:44:22
3. 3#10 The two Klemperers and Bruno Walter in Wagner18 Jan 2021 · 38:33
4. 4#16 Programme music, pure music10 Mar 2021 · 1:12:02
5. 5#9.12 How can sciences of history be real?14 Jan 2021 · 1:55:40

Summary produced automatically from 23 of the passages below, to be reviewed; the numbers link to the moment in the session.