Pierre Boulez is the composer of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries: from his university days in Paris under the influence of the Viennese School and the fin de sicle, through to his achievements in the field of electronic music in the 1970s and his work as a conductor and teacher, he is the most fervent companion to, and creator of, music history.

His Notations are not only fascinating works. They are also sonic witnesses to their times. They originated as piano pieces in 1945 when Boulez was just 20 years old. Between thirty and fifty years later Boulez rewrote them as orchestral works. Starting from the existing piano versions, Boulez created entirely new works that are much more than just orchestrations. These works now give us a rare insight into the composer’s particularly long developmental process.

In Listening Lab Pierre Boulez – Notations, each of the chapters introduces one of the Notations and the performance order suggested by Pierre Boulez has been adopted. The chapters build on each other and are, within themselves, as varied as possible. In the last chapter you will find a list of possible module combinations and project suggestions. They combine different contexts and open up new insights. Some modules are constructed like a dramatic production within a particular context. There are also two very short workshops especially for those who have limited time available. The project suggestions can easily be varied, adapted and expanded.

People of all ages can be brought into closer contact with music
Stimulating and practical approaches are presented for children, young people and adults
Includes tips for the creative design of programmes for music communicators with specific suggestions for providing a deeper understanding of each work
Free downloads of supplementary material available, such as videos, listening examples, pictures and texts