Boulez: Notations I-XII, Structures II, explosante-fixe...

Boulez: Notations I-XII, Structures II, explosante-fixe...

Pierre Boulez is a genuine rarity, a conductor who holds his own as a respected composer. Here he conducts a trio of his own works, from his earliest-published composition, <I>Notations</I>, to the version of <I>...explosante-fixe...</I> that he conducted at IRCAM in the early 1990s. The piano works reveal what Boulez treasures: extremity of contrast, bruised sonorities humming as constant color, and skewered virtuosity.<p> From <I>Notations</I>, things proceed to <I>Structures pour deux pianos</I>, where pianists Pierre-Laurent Aimard and Florent Boffard dash into, across, beyond, above, and below each other in clustering runs and spare, telling jabs. The 36-minute <I> ...explosante-fixe...</I> is a celebration of accelerated and intensified sonic forestry. Sophie Cherrier's solo MIDI flute is electronically tampered with as a chamber orchestra and two additional flutes seek to ensnare, overwhelm, and surround Cherrier with unending swirls of sound. <i>Energetic</i> would be too flat a word to describe this display of volume and shifting soundscapes. Boulez advances electroacoustic composition here and shows himself a spectacular performing visionary in his leadership of the piece. <I>--Andrew Bartlett</I>