Performer and researcher Peter O’Hagan studies the musical style of Pierre Boulez during his final creative period, by means of a detailed consideration of the ensemble work sur Incises, which stands at the heart of Boulez’s later output.

O’Hagan offers a unique blend of perceptions stemming from playing as well as analysing Boulez’s piano music. It is examined in the context of the group of works based on the cipher derived from the name of the dedicatee, Paul Sacher. With one exception, these works are dominated by the keyboard, and sur Incises is examined in relation both to them and to the composer’s output as a whole. An absorbing narrative elucidates the complex evolution of sur Incises, informed by a study of the considerable body of sketches and drafts. O’Hagan sheds new light on the creative process, not only in this work, but more generally on Boulez as a dominant force in music since 1950.

The book will be of interest not only to specialists in the field of contemporary music but to musicology students and a wider public interested in the work of one of the dominating creative personalities of our time.

Performer and researcher Peter O’Hagan studies the musical style of Pierre Boulez during his final creative period, by means of a detailed consideration of the ensemble work sur Incises, which stands at the heart of Boulez’s later output.

O’Hagan offers a unique blend of perceptions stemming from playing as well as analysing Boulez’s piano music. It is examined in the context of the group of works based on the cipher derived from the name of the dedicatee, Paul Sacher. With one exception, these works are dominated by the keyboard, and sur Incises is examined in relation both to them and to the composer’s output as a whole. An absorbing narrative elucidates the complex evolution of sur Incises, informed by a study of the considerable body of sketches and drafts. O’Hagan sheds new light on the creative process, not only in this work, but more generally on Boulez as a dominant force in music since 1950.

The book will be of interest not only to specialists in the field of contemporary music but to musicology students and a wider public interested in the work of one of the dominating creative personalities of our time.

Pierre Boulez''s first piano pieces date from his youth, prior to his studies in Paris with Messiaen, and his subsequent meteoric rise to international acclaim as the leader of the musical avant-garde during the 1950s. His most recent published work is a solo piano piece, Une page d’éphéméride, written some sixty years after his first attempts at composition. The piano has remained central to Boulez''s creative work throughout his career, and although his renown as a conductor has to some extent overshadowed his other achievements, it was as a performer of his own piano music that his practical gifts first found expression.

Peter O''Hagan has given performances of various unpublished piano works by Boulez, including Antiphonie from the Third Sonata and Trois Psalmodies. In this study, he considers Boulez''s writing for the piano in the context of the composer''s stylistic evolution throughout the course of his development. Each of the principal works is considered in detail, not only on its own terms, but also as a stage in Boulez''s ongoing quest to invent radical solutions to the renewal of musical language and to reinvigorate tradition. The volume includes reference to hitherto unpublished source material, which sheds light on his working methods and on the interrelationship between works.

Pierre Boulez''s first piano pieces date from his youth, prior to his studies in Paris with Messiaen, and his subsequent meteoric rise to international acclaim as the leader of the musical avant-garde during the 1950s. His most recent published work is a solo piano piece, Une page d’éphéméride, written some sixty years after his first attempts at composition. The piano has remained central to Boulez''s creative work throughout his career, and although his renown as a conductor has to some extent overshadowed his other achievements, it was as a performer of his own piano music that his practical gifts first found expression.

Peter O''Hagan has given performances of various unpublished piano works by Boulez, including Antiphonie from the Third Sonata and Trois Psalmodies. In this study, he considers Boulez''s writing for the piano in the context of the composer''s stylistic evolution throughout the course of his development. Each of the principal works is considered in detail, not only on its own terms, but also as a stage in Boulez''s ongoing quest to invent radical solutions to the renewal of musical language and to reinvigorate tradition. The volume includes reference to hitherto unpublished source material, which sheds light on his working methods and on the interrelationship between works.

Performer and researcher Peter O’Hagan studies the musical style of Pierre Boulez during his final creative period, by means of a detailed consideration of the ensemble work sur Incises, which stands at the heart of Boulez’s later output.

O’Hagan offers a unique blend of perceptions stemming from playing as well as analysing Boulez’s piano music. It is examined in the context of the group of works based on the cipher derived from the name of the dedicatee, Paul Sacher. With one exception, these works are dominated by the keyboard, and sur Incises is examined in relation both to them and to the composer’s output as a whole. An absorbing narrative elucidates the complex evolution of sur Incises, informed by a study of the considerable body of sketches and drafts. O’Hagan sheds new light on the creative process, not only in this work, but more generally on Boulez as a dominant force in music since 1950.

The book will be of interest not only to specialists in the field of contemporary music but to musicology students and a wider public interested in the work of one of the dominating creative personalities of our time.

Performer and researcher Peter O’Hagan studies the musical style of Pierre Boulez during his final creative period, by means of a detailed consideration of the ensemble work sur Incises, which stands at the heart of Boulez’s later output.

O’Hagan offers a unique blend of perceptions stemming from playing as well as analysing Boulez’s piano music. It is examined in the context of the group of works based on the cipher derived from the name of the dedicatee, Paul Sacher. With one exception, these works are dominated by the keyboard, and sur Incises is examined in relation both to them and to the composer’s output as a whole. An absorbing narrative elucidates the complex evolution of sur Incises, informed by a study of the considerable body of sketches and drafts. O’Hagan sheds new light on the creative process, not only in this work, but more generally on Boulez as a dominant force in music since 1950.

The book will be of interest not only to specialists in the field of contemporary music but to musicology students and a wider public interested in the work of one of the dominating creative personalities of our time.

Pierre Boulez''s first piano pieces date from his youth, prior to his studies in Paris with Messiaen, and his subsequent meteoric rise to international acclaim as the leader of the musical avant-garde during the 1950s. His most recent published work is a solo piano piece, Une page d’éphéméride, written some sixty years after his first attempts at composition. The piano has remained central to Boulez''s creative work throughout his career, and although his renown as a conductor has to some extent overshadowed his other achievements, it was as a performer of his own piano music that his practical gifts first found expression.

Peter O''Hagan has given performances of various unpublished piano works by Boulez, including Antiphonie from the Third Sonata and Trois Psalmodies. In this study, he considers Boulez''s writing for the piano in the context of the composer''s stylistic evolution throughout the course of his development. Each of the principal works is considered in detail, not only on its own terms, but also as a stage in Boulez''s ongoing quest to invent radical solutions to the renewal of musical language and to reinvigorate tradition. The volume includes reference to hitherto unpublished source material, which sheds light on his working methods and on the interrelationship between works.

Pierre Boulez''s first piano pieces date from his youth, prior to his studies in Paris with Messiaen, and his subsequent meteoric rise to international acclaim as the leader of the musical avant-garde during the 1950s. His most recent published work is a solo piano piece, Une page d’éphéméride, written some sixty years after his first attempts at composition. The piano has remained central to Boulez''s creative work throughout his career, and although his renown as a conductor has to some extent overshadowed his other achievements, it was as a performer of his own piano music that his practical gifts first found expression.

Peter O''Hagan has given performances of various unpublished piano works by Boulez, including Antiphonie from the Third Sonata and Trois Psalmodies. In this study, he considers Boulez''s writing for the piano in the context of the composer''s stylistic evolution throughout the course of his development. Each of the principal works is considered in detail, not only on its own terms, but also as a stage in Boulez''s ongoing quest to invent radical solutions to the renewal of musical language and to reinvigorate tradition. The volume includes reference to hitherto unpublished source material, which sheds light on his working methods and on the interrelationship between works.