Boulez conducts Stravinsky [6 CD set]

"Few conductors have invigorated repertoires with the verve that Pierre Boulez has brought to his interpretations of Stravinsky, compiled here across six CDs...Bristling with energetic innovation... it's an absolute bargain."
(The Independent)

"A superbly conceived and performed collection of Stravinsky's shorter masterpieces. Boulez knows these pieces like few other musicians - and it shows." (Gramophone Editor's Choice - Gramophone Magazine (Dec 2001 on Le Chant du Rossignol/Histoire du soldat)

As a composer, conductor and teacher, Pierre Boulez has made a decisive contribution to the development of music in the 20th century. He was born in 1925 in Montbrison, France. His teachers at the Paris Conservatory included Olivier Messiaen and René Leibowitz. In 1954 he founded the "domaine musical" - a concert series dedicated to the performance of modern music - and remained their director until 1967.

He began his conducting career in 1958 in Baden-Baden, Germany with the Südwestfunk Orchestra. From 1960 to 1962 he taught composition at the Music Academy in Basel. He was principal guest conductor of the Cleveland Orchestra (1967 - 1972), and principal conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra (1971-1975) and the New York Philharmonic (1971-1977). From 1977-1992 he was director of the "Institut de Recherche et de Coordination Acoustique/Musique" (IRCAM). In 1995 Pierre Boulez was named principal guest conductor of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. He is the founder and president of the Ensemble InterContemporain and co-founder of the newly-created music center "Cité de la musique" in Paris.

In 1992, he conducted Peter Stein's new production of Debussy's Pelléas et Mélisande with the Welsh National Opera. In January 1993 this production (released as a video by DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON) was named "Opera Production of the Year 1992" at the INTERNATIONAL CLASSICAL MUSIC AWARDS. Pierre Boulez is a regular guest at the Salzburg Festival, where he has appeared with renowned orchestras including the Ensemble InterContemporain, the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Wiener Philharmoniker. In 1993, he conducted the Berlin Philharmonic for the first time in almost 30 years. To celebrate his 70th birthday in 1995, Pierre Boulez undertook a world tour with the London Symphony and a host of international stars including Maurizio Pollini, Jessye Norman, Gidon Kremer, Anne-Sophie Mutter and Mstislav Rostropovich. In 1995, Boulez conducted Peter Stein's production of Schoenberg's opera Moses and Aaron at the Nederlandse Opera in Amsterdam and led the opera's premiere at the 1996 Salzburg Festival.

In 1995, Pierre Boulez was awarded the GERMAN RECORD CRITICS AWARD for his contribution to 20th-century music, named "Artist of the Year" by the magazine GRAMOPHONE, and honored at the VICTOIRES DE LA MUSIQUE in France. In 1996 Boulez received the BERLIN ARTS PRIZE, and the Royal Swedish Academy of Music awarded him POLAR MUSIC PRIZE.

Pierre Boulez's relationship with DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON dates back to the 1970s, with his prize-winning recordings of Parsifal from Bayreuth and the complete version of Berg's Lulu (world-premiere recording). An exclusive DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON artist, Boulez's recordings range from standard contemporary works to the most avantgarde music.