The composer, conductor and central actor in musical life Pierre Boulez, who died in 2016, would have been one hundred years old in 2025. His mark remains strong in the world of classical music, where he is still today among the composers of the post-war period the most played in the world. France, with which relations have not always been simple, will honor his memory by devoting a year of tributes to him, the Ministry of Culture announced Tuesday in a press release.
“No one better than him has succeeded in embodying the role of the builder who has strongly contributed to the transformation of the entire French musical landscape,” explains rue de Valois, specifying that Rachida entrusted Laurent Bayle with “the mission of preparing this tribute “.
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Artistic director of Ircam (Research Institute for Acoustic-Music Coordination), then director following Pierre Boulez of this institution, the former president of the Philharmonie de Paris and of the Musica Festival is among those who best known the composer and musician. The two men met at the beginning of the 1980s and Laurent Bayle supported and defended Pierre Boulez’s projects, notably the creation of the Cité de la Musique, Porte de Pantin, in 1995, and its completion twenty years later. , with the creation of the large concert hall of the Philharmonie. Weakened, the composer was unable to attend the inauguration of the 2,400-seat hall which will soon bear his name.
“In connection with the succession of Pierre Boulez, Laurent Bayle’s mission will not be limited to a tribute to the past and the work of Boulez. It will also be an exploration of the future, questioning Boulez’s legacy in relation to contemporary creation and the new generation of musicians,” specifies the ministry.
