Pierre Boulez at 100

Alternative Stage Founding Donor

Major Sponsor of the Greek National Opera

Grammy and Emmy award-winning pianist Gloria Cheng and acclaimed Dutch pianist Ralph van Raat present a unique tribute-concert to Pierre Boulez, the “uncompromising pioneer” composer and maestro who marked the 20^th century, celebrating the 100^th anniversary of his birth. The recital for two pianos, titled Pierre Boulez at 100, will be held at the GNO Alternative Stage at the SNFCC on Wednesday, 4 June 2025, at 20.30. The concert programme highlights both Boulez’s compositions and his profound influence on some of the most prominent composers of the 20^th and 21^st centuries.

Pierre Boulez: The architect of the 20th century's musical revolution

French composer and maestro Pierre Boulez (1925-2016) was one of the most groundbreaking and influential figures in post-war contemporary music. Heretic, demanding, and often provocative, he transformed the 20^th century’s musical landscape with his ideas and oeuvre. Famous for his intellectual strictness, Boulez rejected mediocrity, routine, and everything he considered outdated. His quote, “Blow up the opera houses!” –  used as a metaphor in 1967 – became the symbol for the need to radically renew music institutions.  A prominent figure in serialism during the 1950s, Boulez continued to innovate by founding the Institute for Research and Coordination in Acoustics/Music (IRCAM) in Paris, a leading research center for electronic music. At the same time, he also distinguished himself as a world-class maestro: starting in 1958 with the Southwest German Radio Symphony Orchestra in Baden-Baden, he later held significant positions with the BBC Symphony Orchestra in London (1971-75) and the New York Philharmonic (1971-1977). Pierre Boulez was not only a composer and orchestra conductor; he was also a thinker who believed that music should stir the waters and advance steadily into the future.

Celebrating Pierre Boulez

To mark the 100th anniversary of his birth, internationally acclaimed pianists Gloria Cheng and Ralph van Raat will celebrate Pierre Boulez’s intellectual and artistic legacy with a special concert highlighting his enduring influence on modern musical reflection and experimentation.

“People often saw in him a strict, distant scholar – ‘a nuclear physicist of sound’. However, everyone who worked with him had a different image of him: Boulez had an exceptionally noble and precise spirit. Behind control and structure, there was profound passion. He just did not express it blatantly, but with absolute clarity and an internal flame. He dared without making noise. He was an unpretentious trailblazer. On his piano, each note was heard as if it weighed a thousand kilos – yet it was as light as thought. That was Boulez. There was nothing superfluous about him. Just pure essence.”  notes Gloria Cheng. “Boulez was a true pioneer, an artist unafraid to challenge traditional forms and redefine the musical language of the 20^th century.” “The performance of Boulez’s works requires absolute precision and a deep understanding of the composer’s structure and aesthetic”, adds Ralph van Raat

The concert programme Pierre Boulez at 100 includes works covering his entire career, from his youth and more “modernist” period to the most tender, mature piece he composed for Gloria Cheng’s wedding. In addition to the French composer’s pieces for solo piano and two pianos, the programme extends to his important, yet often unknown relationships with other composers, such as John Cage, Frank Zappa, Morton Feldman, and Magnus Lindberg – showcasing a selection that illuminates his diverse influences and musical affinities.

The two pianists will also perform solo pieces discovered in Boulez’s archives after he died in 2016. The programme concludes with Igor Stravinsky’s elegant, neoclassical Sonata for Two Pianos (1943-44).

An ode-concert to Boulez’s remarkable work and the numerous musical paths he carved out, influencing generations of composers.

A few words about Gloria Cheng

Grammy and Emmy award-winning distinguished pianist Gloria Cheng is hailed as one of the most prominent performers of modern music. The New York Times has characterized her as “an invaluable new-music advocate.” She has performed as a soloist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Pierre Boulez and Zubin Mehta. She has also participated regularly in the Green Umbrella series under the guidance of Esa-Pekka Salonen and Oliver Knussen. In 2008, she received a Grammy for “Best solo performance (without orchestra)” for the album Piano Music of Salonen, Stucky, and Lutosławski, and in 2013 she was once again nominated for the album The Edge of Light: Messiaen / Saariaho.  Her musical documentary Montage: Great Film Composers and the Piano, which explores the connection between film music composers and the piano, won an Emmy in 2018.

Gloria Cheng maintained a close artistic relationship with Pierre Boulez, with whom she collaborated on numerous occasions as a soloist and whom she regarded as a significant influence on her musical career.

A few words about Ralph van Raat

Acclaimed Dutch pianist and musicologist Ralph van Raat has established himself internationally for his devotion to modern music. He regularly performs solo in Europe, Asia, Australia, and America, collaborating with prestigious orchestras such as the Sinfonietta in London, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the Concertgebouw Royal Orchestra, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra. He has worked closely with esteemed composers such as John Adams, Magnus Lindberg, Arvo Pärt, Tan Dun, and John Tavener, highlighting their work through performances and recordings. Ralph van Raat holds a strong appreciation for Pierre Boulez, whom he considers to be one of the leading figures of the 20^th century. His involvement in Boulez’s work includes both performance and research, and he has contributed to bringing some of the composer’s lesser-known and anecdotal piano pieces to light.

The concert “Pierre Boulez at 100” is part of the GNO Alternative Stage’s unit of programming titled “CYCLE OF THEMATIC CONCERTS”, which falls under the ACT “FESTIVAL EVENTS OF THE GNO ALTERNATIVE STAGE 2024-2025” » (MIS 6002467) with code 2024ΕΠ08570049 (Priority: “Fostering regional social cohesion through the enhancement of mechanisms and infrastructure to support employment, education, health care and socioeconomic inclusion” of the programme “Attica 2021-2027) and is co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and National Resources.