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''Incises'' was Boulez's first work for solo piano since his [[Piano sonatas (Boulez)|third piano sonata]] of 1955–57/63. Originally written in 1994 as a test piece for the Umberto Micheli Piano Competition,<ref>http://www.universaledition.com/Pierre-Boulez/composers-and-works/composer/88/work/5114</ref> Boulez revised it in 2001. It plays with contrasts of gestures and textures, for instance, repeated pitches or chords in an even tempo interrupted by violent melodic arcs, or sparse chordal interjections without discernible rhythm over long held sonorities.<ref name=radice>{{cite book|last1=Radice|first1=Mark A.|title=Chamber Music: An Essential History |date=2012 |publisher=University of Michigan Press|location=Ann Arbor, MI|page=279|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SJr7rxTvx2AC&pg=PA279& |accessdate=19 January 2016}}</ref> It lasts less than ten minutes.
''Incises'' was Boulez's first work for solo piano since his [[Piano sonatas (Boulez)|third piano sonata]] of 1955–57/63. Originally written in 1994 as a test piece for the Umberto Micheli Piano Competition,<ref>http://www.universaledition.com/Pierre-Boulez/composers-and-works/composer/88/work/5114</ref> Boulez revised it in 2001. It plays with contrasts of gestures and textures, for instance, repeated pitches or chords in an even tempo interrupted by violent melodic arcs, or sparse chordal interjections without discernible rhythm over long held sonorities.<ref name=radice>{{cite book|last1=Radice|first1=Mark A.|title=Chamber Music: An Essential History |date=2012 |publisher=University of Michigan Press|location=Ann Arbor, MI|page=279|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SJr7rxTvx2AC&pg=PA279& |accessdate=19 January 2016}}</ref> It lasts less than ten minutes.


He wrote ''Sur Incises'' a few years later. Based on the material of ''Incises'', it is a two-movement work for 3 [[piano]]s, 3 [[harp]]s, and 3 [[percussion]] parts, which use a variety of tuned percussion instruments: [[vibraphone]], [[marimba]], [[glockenspiel]], [[steel drums]], [[tubular bells]], and [[crotales]]). It lasts forty minutes. Here the sounds of the piano in ''Incises'' are broken into component parts played by the harps and percussion, and they are deployed across space by spreading the three groups apart in the performance area. This kind of reworking of an earlier piece is characteristic of Boulez, the first instance being ''[[Structures (Boulez)|Structures]]''. ''Sur Incises'' was awarded the [[Grawemeyer Award for Music Composition]] given by the [[University of Louisville]].<ref name=radice/> The movements are called "Moment I" and "Moment II".
He wrote ''Sur Incises'' a few years later. Based on the material of ''Incises'', it is a two-movement work for 3 [[piano]]s, 3 [[harp]]s, and 3 [[percussion]] parts, which use a variety of tuned percussion instruments: [[vibraphone]], [[marimba]], [[glockenspiel]], [[steel drums]], [[tubular bells]], and [[crotales]]. It lasts forty minutes. Here the sounds of the piano in ''Incises'' are broken into component parts played by the harps and percussion, and they are deployed across space by spreading the three groups apart in the performance area. This kind of reworking of an earlier piece is characteristic of Boulez, the first instance being ''[[Structures (Boulez)|Structures]]''. ''Sur Incises'' was awarded the [[Grawemeyer Award for Music Composition]] given by the [[University of Louisville]].<ref name=radice/> The movements are called "Moment I" and "Moment II".


The pitches of the [[tone row|row]] used in ''Incises'' and ''Sur Incises'' are based on the [[Sacher hexachord]], the same as those used in the rows for ''[[Répons]]'', ''Messagesquisse'', and ''Dérive 1''.<ref>Campbell, Edward (2010). ''Boulez, Music and Philosophy'', p.206. ISBN 978-0-521-86242-4.</ref>
The pitches of the [[tone row|row]] used in ''Incises'' and ''Sur Incises'' are based on the [[Sacher hexachord]], the same as those used in the rows for ''[[Répons]]'', ''Messagesquisse'', and ''Dérive 1''.<ref>Campbell, Edward (2010). ''Boulez, Music and Philosophy'', p.206. ISBN 978-0-521-86242-4.</ref>

Revision as of 03:22, 19 January 2016

The Ensemble InterContemporain after a performance of Sur Incises in Barbican Hall, London, April 2015 Incises (1994/2001) and Sur Incises (1996/1998) are two related works of the French composer Pierre Boulez. The latter was dedicated to Paul Sacher on his 90th birthday.

Incises was Boulez's first work for solo piano since his third piano sonata of 1955–57/63. Originally written in 1994 as a test piece for the Umberto Micheli Piano Competition,[1] Boulez revised it in 2001. It plays with contrasts of gestures and textures, for instance, repeated pitches or chords in an even tempo interrupted by violent melodic arcs, or sparse chordal interjections without discernible rhythm over long held sonorities.[2] It lasts less than ten minutes.

He wrote Sur Incises a few years later. Based on the material of Incises, it is a two-movement work for 3 pianos, 3 harps, and 3 percussion parts, which use a variety of tuned percussion instruments: vibraphone, marimba, glockenspiel, steel drums, tubular bells, and crotales. It lasts forty minutes. Here the sounds of the piano in Incises are broken into component parts played by the harps and percussion, and they are deployed across space by spreading the three groups apart in the performance area. This kind of reworking of an earlier piece is characteristic of Boulez, the first instance being Structures. Sur Incises was awarded the Grawemeyer Award for Music Composition given by the University of Louisville.[2] The movements are called "Moment I" and "Moment II".

The pitches of the row used in Incises and Sur Incises are based on the Sacher hexachord, the same as those used in the rows for Répons, Messagesquisse, and Dérive 1.[3]

Reviewing of a 2005 performance of Incises, Tim Page described it: "Incises is charged with a bright, cold, hard brilliance, like a spray of crushed ice. It is dense with events -- even when it is silent for a moment, Boulez's music never really 'rests'–but also far more generous in its emotional expression than much of his earlier work."[4]

Sources

  1. ^ http://www.universaledition.com/Pierre-Boulez/composers-and-works/composer/88/work/5114
  2. ^ a b Radice, Mark A. (2012). Chamber Music: An Essential History. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press. p. 279. Retrieved 19 January 2016.
  3. ^ Campbell, Edward (2010). Boulez, Music and Philosophy, p.206. ISBN 978-0-521-86242-4.
  4. ^ Page, Tim (21 February 2005). "Marilyn Nonken's Eloquent Ives". Washington Post. Retrieved 19 January 2016.

Further reading

  • Boulez, Pierre. 2001. Incises pour piano (version 2001). Vienna: Universal Edition. UE 31 966. ISBN 3-7024-1186-0
  • Fink, Wolfgang. 2000. Boulez: Sur Incises, programme booklet. Hamburg: Deutsche Grammophon CD 463 475-2.
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