Pierre Boulez
Photo: ICMA
Pierre Boulez, composer, conductor and philosopher of music, would have turned 100 in 2025. The Festspielhaus Baden-Baden, the town of Baden-Baden and numerous partners are celebrating this anniversary with an extensive program in the city, where Pierre Boulez lived and worked for over 60 years, and of which he was made an honorary citizen.
Pierre Boulez died in Baden-Baden in 2016, aged 90. His grave is in Baden-Baden’s main cemetery.
« Pierre Boulez was one of the great artists of his century, a gentleman and a visionary who permanently changed the world of music. For our city, it is therefore a matter of honor and heart to celebrate this anniversary in a creative manner worthy of him, » says Benedikt Stampa, General Director of the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden. « Pierre Boulez played an eminent role in the 20th century as a conductor, composer and cultural theorist. »
The program in honor of the centenary of Pierre Boulez, a world citizen and neighbor, is coordinated by the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden at the request of the city of Baden-Baden, in close consultation with numerous partners from the worlds of culture and society.
The highlights of the festivities will be the centenary of his birth, on Wednesday March 26, 2025, and the international Pentecost Festival Présence from May 31 to June 9, 2025.
The centenary festivities begin with the transformation of the Festspielhaus into a huge « cinema-opera ». From January 23 to 26, 2025, the entire « Ring of the Century » directed by Pierre Boulez at Bayreuth from 1976 to 1980 will be screened. With their vision of Richard Wagner’s Ring, Pierre Boulez and Patrice Chéreau (32 years old at the time) initially caused a theatrical scandal, which over the years turned into a great triumph.
Further information: www.festspielhaus.de
