Afterwords: Pierre Boulez at 100
An exploration of the musician and writer Pierre Boulez who was born 100 years ago this week.
The musician Pierre Boulez - one of the dominant composers of the 20th century and a deeply respected conductor - is perhaps most widely known for his iconoclastic utterances, suggesting we 'blow the opera houses up' and that 'all art of the past must be destroyed'.
In the week of what would have been his 100th birthday, figures who were close to him - the composer George Benjamin and the pianist Mitsuko Uchida - and others who have been touched by his thinking - Errollyn Wallen, Master of the King's Music, and Gillian Moore, former Director of Music at the Southbank Centre in London - engage with Boulez's creativity, his personality (an uncompromising, faultlessly charming manner) and his lasting legacy.
Produced by Alan Hall with Phoebe McIndoe
A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio Three
Last on
More episodes
Previous
Broadcast
- Sun 30 Mar 2025 18:15BBC Radio 3
What was really wrong with Beethoven?
Georgia Mann and neurosurgeon Henry Marsh explore the puzzle of Beethoven’s poor health.
Classical music in a strongman's Russia – has anything changed since Stalin's day?
What composer Gabriel Prokofiev and I found in Putin's Moscow...
Six Secret Smuggled Books
Six classic works of literature we wouldn't have read if they hadn't been smuggled...
Grid
Seven images inspired by the grid
World Music collector, Sir David Attenborough
The field recordings Attenborough of music performances around the world.