Boulez: Sonic Structures

The London Sinfonietta celebrates the intoxicating music of Pierre Boulez stepping into the intricate structures the French composer built throughout his career. With his meticulous mathematical approach to sound Boulez dismantled 20th-century music and rewired it transforming its internal logic. In this concert the London Sinfonietta explores the chaos within his fixed systems and the volatile consequences of depth and detail. 

The evening opens with a special insight into …explosante fixe… as George Benjamin—one of the UK’s greatest living composers—deconstructs the piece live on stage using the full live ensemble and electronics to reveal its inner workings and how Boulez conceived of composition. A longtime champion of Boulez’s work Benjamin traces its evolution from Mémoriale the luminous tribute to Igor Stravinsky that later expanded into …explosante fixe…. 

Marking the centenary of Boulez’s birth this concert pays tribute to his ever-evolving approach to composition. …explosante fixe… was supposedly completed in 1971 yet Boulez continued reinventing it—experimenting with electronics orchestration and emerging MIDI techniques. Originally conceived as a tribute to Igor Stravinsky the piece became a bridge to the future constantly reimagined for new times. 

Throughout Sonic Structures the London Sinfonietta highlights both the complexity and possibility at the heart of Boulez’s music. In the second half …explosante fixe… is heard in full with flutist Michael Cox leading an orchestra in orbit. They respond dynamically to his playing weaving together the piece’s network of finely-tuned arrangements. At times they are restrained to near-silence while at others they overwhelm the listener with a blanket continuum of sound. 

This event offers a deep insight into the mind of Pierre Boulez—one of the most influential composers of the past century—through the artistry of George Benjamin and the London Sinfonietta. 

Programme to include:

Pierre Boulez explosante fixe

Pierre Boulez Memoriale

George Benjamin conductor

Michael Cox flute 

Royal Academy of Music Manson Ensemble

London Sinfonietta

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