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Tributes pour in after death of experimental composer and conductor Pierre Boulez

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By Seamus Kearney
Tributes pour in after death of experimental composer and conductor Pierre Boulez

Tributes have poured in for the French experimental composer and conductor Pierre Boulez who has died at the age of 90.

We have a lot of fun and I'm convinced there is more fun to be had than with classical music, because we have less respect for it

The French President said Boulez had been a beacon for French music around the world.

Boulez had already made his name in classical music when he began to branch out into something more original.

“It’s really a cliché to say ‘contemporary music is so boring, so simple’,” he once said.

“Not at all. We have a lot of fun and I’m convinced there is more fun to be had than with classical music, because we have less respect for it.”

Boulez conducted some of the world’s most famous orchestras, especially the work of 20th century composers.

He also ventured into use of electronic sound in orchestral pieces and encouraged performers to play with what he termed “controlled chance”, improvising their own sounds.

His life was honoured with an exhibition at the Philharmonie de Paris last year.