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1. Olivier Messiaen (1908 - 1992)
In 1942 Boulez began attending the classes of the famous French composer Olivier Messiaen. His early works show the influence of his teacher combined with his interest in serialist methods of composition. Messiaen's own "Mode de valeurs et d'intensitées" provided the means and inspiration behind Boulez's first book of Structures for two pianos as it even used Messiaen's original twelve-note series but went on to use number matrices derived from it, to determine note durations, dynamics, and types of attack.This method of composition became known as Integral Serialism.
In orchestral writing, links can be found in the two composers love of bright colours and luminous textures. Both often use exotic metallic percussion instruments which take on significant roles and reflect an interest in oriental sensibilities. There is also a feeling of rhythmic freedom and unpredictability avoiding any reliance on regular pulse.
Statement and decoration are more important to melodic material than organic thematic development and Boulez's sometimes dense polyphonic style owes much to the harmonic traditions of Messiaen and Schoenberg.
2. Arnold Schoenberg (1874 - 1951) and Anton Webern (1883 - 1945)
In 1945 Boulez heard Schoenberg's Wind Quintet op. 26, one of the first pieces of wholly twelve-note music. At this time,Schoenberg's theories were being taught in France by his pupil Rene Leibowitz and Boulez was quick to apply for lessons in serial techniques. From Schoenberg, Boulez carried on the desire for originality and the search to find new ways of ordering and structuring the techniques of composition. Unhappy with Schoenberg's use of classical forms for structuring such "new" music, Boulez turned to another of Schoenberg's pupils, Anton Webern for alternatives which embodied the ideals of objectivity, brevity, decoration and a clinical focus on structure.
From here on, Boulez became the undisputed leader of the serialist movement, finding himself at the head of the European avant garde and demanding that composition should be seen as a form of scientific research, free from adherence to personal style and the sentimentality of romantic self-indulgence.
3. Renée Char (1907 - ) and Stéphane Mallarmé (1842 - 1898)
During the time of the late 1940's Boulez fell under the influence of the surrealist poet Rene Char. This contrast of violent imagery and sense of mystery inspired three great works: Le Visage nuptial (1947), Le Soleil des eaux (1948) and Le Marteau sans maître (1954). Boulez often remarked that it was Char's clarity of image and phrase that drew him towards the poetry, although there does also seem to be a strong link between the emotional content of both artists work.
Boulez's homage to Mallarmé lies in two major works: the Piano sonata no.3 (1957) and Pli selon pli (1957-62). Both are works in which the performer has a certain freedom of choice ranging from passages where the note durations are left open, to more structural decisions where the player is free to choose alternative routes through the piece, as well as making his or her own decisions about speed and dynamics.
Pli selon pli draws on the contrast of delicate chamber ensemble textures set against dense full orchestral sections where the extreme expressionistic setting is born from what Boulez describes as "the extraordinary formal density of his poems".
introduction : intro.to Dérive : a guide to Dérive : harmony : texture : tempo : influences : words : definitions