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Total Immersion: Pierre Boulez - The Second Piano Sonata

BBC SO Total Immersion: Boulez at the BBC

,Milton Court Concert Hall
Black and white photo of Boulez with his hands raised in front of him. There are pink circular swirls around him.

Boulez’s shattering Second Piano Sonata, and two extraordinary works for solo clarinet, performed by the talented musicians of the Guildhall School and introduced by BBC Radio 3’s Kate Molleson.

Pierre Boulez made art without compromise. 'History as it is made by great composers is not a history of conservation, but of destruction - even while cherishing what is destroyed', he wrote, and in his explosive Second Piano Sonata of 1947-8 he set out to blast a path forward through the ruins of the western tradition. Few experiences in 20th century piano music are more visceral – or more bracing. And we’ll hear Boulez explore the clarinet and the amazing things it can do in Domaines (1961) and Dialogue de l’ombre double for clarinet and tape (1985) – written 24 years later. 

Don’t be misled: this is music that’s small only in the physical sense; a thrilling reminder that as well as being a radical chief conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Boulez was a creator who split the musical atom - and revelled in the energy it released. 

Tagged with: Classical music BBC Symphony Orchestra BBC Symphony Orchestra Multibuy Feb–Jun 25 More...

This performance will finish at approximately 4.15pm.

Promoted by BBC Symphony Orchestra

Programme

Pierre Boulez Domaines for solo clarinet
Piano Sonata No 2
Dialogue de l’ombre double for clarinet and tape

Performers

Guildhall School musicians

Ticket prices

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£5

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Subject to availability

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Total Immersion Day

Milton Court Concert Hall