Pierre Boulez
Photo: ICMA
To commemorate the 100th anniversary of the birth of Pierre Boulez (1925-2016), music director of the New York Philharmonic from 1971 to 1977, the New York Philharmonic’s Shelby White & Leon Levy Digital Archive has digitized and made available over 13,000 pages of archival material dating from his tenure. Including personal correspondence, planning documents, audience surveys and much more, these documents offer a glimpse into the musical currents of the time and the innovations Boulez brought to bear on the Philharmonic stage.
Highlights of the collection include handwritten letter from Boulez explaining his choice of repertoire for the concert commemorating Stravinsky’s death in April 1971, a letter criticizing Boulez’s inclusion of Varèse’s Amériques (a work the NY Phil performed earlier this month, conducted by new music director Oscar L. Tang and HM Agnes Hsu-Tang, artistic director Gustavo Dudamel) at a 1975 concert, and Boulez’s explanation of his choice.
Here is the link to the Boulez pages.
