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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Entertainment
Interviews by Imogen Tilden

‘He jolted us out of our comfort zone’: Antonio Pappano, Martyn Brabbins and more on Pierre Boulez

Pierre Boulez.
‘In everything he did, he was completely individual’ ... Pierre Boulez. Photograph: Murdo Macleod/The Guardian

Composer, conductor, polemicist and iconoclast Pierre Boulez was born 100 years ago and, on his death in 2016, left classical music utterly changed. Ahead of two festivals in which the London Symphony Orchestra and the BBC Symphony celebrate a musician with whom both orchestras had close and enduring relationships we speak to composers, conductors and performers who worked with the legendary musician, and tell us why his music remains essential listening - so long as we put our ‘Boulez ears’ on.

‘Pli Selon Pli is simply one of the greatest works of the 20th century’
George Benjamin, composer and conductor

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