Pierre Boulez’s Sur Incises: Refraction, Crystallisation and the Absent Idea(l)

The April edition of the Tempo journal, published by Cambridge Journals, contains an article by me entitled ‘Pierre Boulez’s Sur Incises: Refraction, Crystallisation and the Absent Idea(l)’. It’s an analytical study exploring how Boulez’s extraordinary piece for three pianos, three harps and three percussionists relates to its solo piano predecessor Incises, and also to Boulez’s late style in general. The article is rather technical in nature but hopefully sheds some light on how Boulez’s late music works and how his approach to recomposing existing material can produce such wonderful and luxurious music. Cambridge Journals Online requires a subscription or a University login, so anyone without access can contact me to get a PDF of the article.

In other news, I had a second workshop on my orchestral piece, Codex (Homage to Serafini) yesterday with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and the wonderful conductor Garry Walker, as part of my Sound and Music Embedded residency. I will now set about completing the piece for its premiere in November – I know that the finished product will be immeasurably better thanks to the dedication, professionalism and advice of Garry, the players and administrative team at the BBCSO, and the mentorship I’ve been receiving from Richard Causton. A picture from the first workshop is below.