0:00:02 > 0:00:06When Pierre Boulez died in January 2016 at the age of 90,
0:00:06 > 0:00:09the musical world lost one of its giants.
0:00:09 > 0:00:13Boulez's achievements as composer, conductor and cultural leader
0:00:13 > 0:00:16changed the fabric of classical music culture
0:00:16 > 0:00:19in this country and all over the world.
0:00:20 > 0:00:24For this programme, we've combed the BBC television archives
0:00:24 > 0:00:28for a portrait of this charmingly demanding musical inspiration.
0:00:28 > 0:00:30When one is not offensive in life,
0:00:30 > 0:00:32you obtain absolutely nothing.
0:00:32 > 0:00:33That's my opinion.
0:00:33 > 0:00:37From his fiery spirit of avant-garde adventure in his own music...
0:00:39 > 0:00:41..to classic performances with the BBC Symphony Orchestra
0:00:41 > 0:00:43of works by Schumann...
0:00:45 > 0:00:47..Stravinsky....
0:00:47 > 0:00:49and Debussy.
0:00:52 > 0:00:54We'll see him in rehearsal...
0:00:54 > 0:00:56You are always too much in a hurry!
0:00:56 > 0:01:00You make me silly! Too soon, too soon, too soon.
0:01:00 > 0:01:03..we'll sample his frugal lifestyle...
0:01:03 > 0:01:04Nothing.
0:01:04 > 0:01:07..and we will discover an extraordinary musician
0:01:07 > 0:01:10and thinker, who forever moved relentlessly forward.
0:01:10 > 0:01:15If you are on a bicycle, you have to move to keep your balance.
0:01:15 > 0:01:17And it's exactly that.
0:01:17 > 0:01:19You have to move, otherwise you just fall down.
0:01:33 > 0:01:35People who are really creative
0:01:35 > 0:01:37want to communicate.
0:01:37 > 0:01:40They don't want just to discover for themselves.
0:01:40 > 0:01:44That's not true. Creativity is a form of generosity.
0:01:45 > 0:01:47Pierre Boulez was always one of my heroes.
0:01:47 > 0:01:51I think there's a whole generation for whom he's an incredible hero.
0:01:51 > 0:01:53Monsieur Boulez is at the stand...
0:01:53 > 0:01:56He taught a whole generation of us
0:01:56 > 0:02:00how much great music there was that we simply didn't know.
0:02:00 > 0:02:03- Pierre Boulez.- Boulez. - Boulez.- Boulez.- Boulez.- Boulez.
0:02:03 > 0:02:07Boulez was a man on a mission.
0:02:07 > 0:02:10Together with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, from their base
0:02:10 > 0:02:14here at Maida Vale studios in London, Boulez wanted to drag
0:02:14 > 0:02:17musical culture kicking and screaming,
0:02:17 > 0:02:20singing and dancing into the 20th century.
0:02:20 > 0:02:22And it wasn't just about his own music.
0:02:22 > 0:02:25Boulez created a canon of 20th-century
0:02:25 > 0:02:28masterpieces that he effectively taught orchestras
0:02:28 > 0:02:31and audiences, especially at the BBC Proms.
0:02:33 > 0:02:34And the distinguished French composer
0:02:34 > 0:02:37and tonight's conductor, Pierre Boulez...
0:02:37 > 0:02:39Few pieces symbolise
0:02:39 > 0:02:42just how thrilling that adventure was
0:02:42 > 0:02:45than one of Boulez's essential influences -
0:02:45 > 0:02:49Stravinsky's ever iconoclastic ballet The Rite Of Spring.
0:02:49 > 0:02:51MUSIC: The Rite Of Spring by Stravinsky
0:05:29 > 0:05:34Boulez was born in March 1925 to a middle-class family
0:05:34 > 0:05:37in Montbrison, about 100km west of Lyon,
0:05:37 > 0:05:39where he first studied music
0:05:39 > 0:05:43before moving to the Paris Conservatoire during World War II.
0:05:43 > 0:05:47By 1965, he was already a major figure in European
0:05:47 > 0:05:49and world musical culture.
0:05:55 > 0:05:58Le Marteau Sans Maitre, by Boulez himself...
0:06:11 > 0:06:13Just one, two, three. Two...
0:06:13 > 0:06:17Boulez is 40, and a product of the Paris Conservatoire
0:06:17 > 0:06:19and a pupil of Messiaen.
0:06:19 > 0:06:23He's a fine pianist, and the founder of the Domaine Musical in Paris.
0:06:25 > 0:06:26And finish now...
0:06:29 > 0:06:32Very quietly, just...
0:06:32 > 0:06:36Don't move. One, two, three.
0:06:37 > 0:06:43Now - one, two, one, two...
0:06:43 > 0:06:47Boulez had chosen a career in music over engineering,
0:06:47 > 0:06:50but his preoccupation with maths, with numbers
0:06:50 > 0:06:54and structure, underpinned his every action
0:06:54 > 0:06:56as composer and conductor.
0:06:56 > 0:07:00One, two. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven. One...
0:07:00 > 0:07:04Very quietly, always. Can you take...
0:07:04 > 0:07:07bar 6...
0:07:19 > 0:07:22One, two, three, four, five, six, seven. One.
0:07:28 > 0:07:31Dee-de-da-dix... La.
0:07:34 > 0:07:37Boulez took up conducting in 1957.
0:07:37 > 0:07:40He says HE found he was able to conduct without lessons -
0:07:40 > 0:07:43but he learned a great deal from watching other conductors at work,
0:07:43 > 0:07:46particularly Hans Rosbaud.
0:07:46 > 0:07:50When you have these kind of things, you don't prepare the thing.
0:07:50 > 0:07:54One, two, three. One pup-pup-pum.
0:07:54 > 0:07:58You give just one very strong - and that's enough.
0:07:58 > 0:08:01Boulez was made for '60s TV.
0:08:01 > 0:08:04Like the new generation of programme makers
0:08:04 > 0:08:06he had a passion - really a need - to explain.
0:08:06 > 0:08:09Twice.
0:08:09 > 0:08:10Wait for me...
0:08:12 > 0:08:17Just... You are always too much in a hurry. You make me silly.
0:08:17 > 0:08:21Too soon, too soon, too soon. Wait, wait, wait.
0:08:32 > 0:08:35Pierre Boulez begins the programme with Debussy's first important
0:08:35 > 0:08:37orchestral work, written in 1891 -
0:08:37 > 0:08:39L'Apres-midi d'un Faune.
0:11:33 > 0:11:37Boulez, conducting Debussy's Prelude a L'Apres-midi d'un Faune.
0:11:37 > 0:11:42And when, at the end of 1966 the BBC undertook a mammoth tour
0:11:42 > 0:11:45to Russia and the Communist countries of Eastern Europe,
0:11:45 > 0:11:49Boulez chose Debussy's La Mer as his showpiece.
0:12:00 > 0:12:05This beautiful film is a key insight into Boulez's mission.
0:12:05 > 0:12:08He would both drive up the standard of the orchestra's
0:12:08 > 0:12:09playing of modern music,
0:12:09 > 0:12:12and open the ears of audiences to new repertoire.
0:12:58 > 0:13:02Can I ask about Eclat, the only one of your own works which is being performed?
0:13:02 > 0:13:06Yes, Eclat's a very short work until now,
0:13:06 > 0:13:08for a very small group.
0:13:28 > 0:13:31I have a personal relationship with everybody in the group,
0:13:31 > 0:13:35because I give the signals in their direction precisely,
0:13:35 > 0:13:36and they have to follow me,
0:13:36 > 0:13:39and therefore when I just give a signal, for instance to the piano,
0:13:39 > 0:13:42the piano plays - when I give a signal to the cellist,
0:13:42 > 0:13:44the cellist plays. According only to my will.
0:13:44 > 0:13:47And that's not a dictatorial point of view at all.
0:13:47 > 0:13:49That gives much more freedom,
0:13:49 > 0:13:52and you have not only mentioned the music which is created,
0:13:52 > 0:13:54you have a feeling of connection with the musicians
0:13:54 > 0:13:55which is very rare,
0:13:55 > 0:13:58and I like that because, as I've said,
0:13:58 > 0:14:01I play really on the group like on the keys of a keyboard.
0:14:27 > 0:14:31Warsaw is the home of the avant-garde music,
0:14:31 > 0:14:36and I was very surprised that they didn't enjoy Boulez's own work.
0:14:36 > 0:14:39Perhaps this was the only town in which I think he got the bird.
0:14:39 > 0:14:42Not quite as strong as that, perhaps, Dickie,
0:14:42 > 0:14:44but he was very surprised at
0:14:44 > 0:14:46shall we say the cool reception of his music.
0:14:49 > 0:14:51I am strong enough to support attacks,
0:14:51 > 0:14:55to say I don't feel offended or hurt at all.
0:14:55 > 0:14:57I find that part of the life.
0:14:57 > 0:15:01When one is not offensive in life, you obtain absolutely nothing.
0:15:01 > 0:15:03That's my opinion.
0:15:12 > 0:15:16Le Marteau Sans Maitre - the hammer without a master.
0:15:16 > 0:15:21It's music whose explosive imagination goes even further
0:15:21 > 0:15:25than the surrealism of the poetry that inspired it, by Rene Char.
0:15:25 > 0:15:29Offensive? That's how some heard its coruscating novelty at the time
0:15:29 > 0:15:34in 1955, but Le Marteau would become Boulez's single most
0:15:34 > 0:15:36powerfully inspirational piece.
0:15:36 > 0:15:40It was an epiphany for younger composers like Harrison Birtwistle
0:15:40 > 0:15:42and for the elderly Stravinsky.
0:15:42 > 0:15:44It's easy to hear why.
0:16:01 > 0:16:05Le Marteau Sans Maitre is everything that Boulez is about.
0:16:05 > 0:16:10The precision with which every note is allowed to occupy acoustic space.
0:16:13 > 0:16:15And the shifting dynamic sound world -
0:16:15 > 0:16:20always surprising, but driven by the composer's single-minded vision.
0:17:40 > 0:17:41Experiment is
0:17:41 > 0:17:44to try and discover new laws
0:17:44 > 0:17:48and to discover new meaning of nature,
0:17:48 > 0:17:54and I think that's the real sense, meaning of the word "experimental."
0:17:55 > 0:18:00One, two, three, four, five, six.
0:18:00 > 0:18:05One, two, three, four, five...six.
0:18:08 > 0:18:10One-two-three-four one-two-three-four!
0:18:10 > 0:18:13One-two-three-four-five...
0:18:14 > 0:18:17Oh. What did you play?
0:18:21 > 0:18:24Composition for Boulez was an experimental process
0:18:24 > 0:18:26of writing and rewriting,
0:18:26 > 0:18:30every permutation and possibility explored in a potentially limitless
0:18:30 > 0:18:32musical universe.
0:18:55 > 0:18:57- Have you been married?- No.
0:18:57 > 0:18:59- Engaged?- Also not.
0:18:59 > 0:19:03- Are you interested in family life? - No, not at all.
0:19:03 > 0:19:10I must say I am really one person so I cannot live with a family.
0:19:10 > 0:19:14I could not consider it anyway.
0:19:14 > 0:19:19I was also when I was child, not very easy with my family
0:19:19 > 0:19:25so I cannot... I have not a strong feeling for family life.
0:19:25 > 0:19:27That's all that I can say.
0:19:27 > 0:19:30And that's remained a characteristic from childhood to now.
0:19:36 > 0:19:38Nothing.
0:19:38 > 0:19:42Boulez once said he would be the first composer without a biography.
0:19:42 > 0:19:46An artist whose personal life was not so much a secret
0:19:46 > 0:19:50as non-existent, thanks to his complete devotion to music.
0:19:50 > 0:19:52Yesterday I had two concerts
0:19:52 > 0:19:56and then I had a big reception after that - I could not escape
0:19:56 > 0:19:58because people were so friendly.
0:19:58 > 0:20:00After, I had to drive,
0:20:00 > 0:20:03and I was here at four o'clock in the night,
0:20:03 > 0:20:04and then I had to see the mail,
0:20:04 > 0:20:06just happily to see what importance it is,
0:20:06 > 0:20:10and I was in bed at six o'clock in the morning.
0:20:10 > 0:20:14And at eight o'clock I was...awake,
0:20:14 > 0:20:16and I rehearsed at nine.
0:20:16 > 0:20:20Then I have another two other rehearsals,
0:20:20 > 0:20:22and my day was finished at 11:00.
0:20:22 > 0:20:27You know. I have no ideas... worth believing more.
0:21:13 > 0:21:161964, he gave his first concerts at the Festival Hall
0:21:16 > 0:21:18and they were a revelation.
0:21:18 > 0:21:22The music was realised from within, so to speak.
0:21:22 > 0:21:26Boulez's ear was fabulous.
0:21:26 > 0:21:31I mean, it was as though he were attached by 100
0:21:31 > 0:21:33invisible threads to every member of the orchestra.
0:22:10 > 0:22:13Myself, I am very impressed always by the point of view
0:22:13 > 0:22:16of eccentrics, because they are fresh
0:22:16 > 0:22:18and they are bringing fresh air,
0:22:18 > 0:22:21and this point of view is unorthodox
0:22:21 > 0:22:25and brings a discovery in music which is quite astonishing.
0:22:50 > 0:22:53In 1971, Boulez was appointed chief conductor
0:22:53 > 0:22:56of the BBC Symphony Orchestra, succeeding Colin Davis,
0:22:56 > 0:23:00and he immediately put his mission into action -
0:23:00 > 0:23:03not just in terms of the repertoire he programmed, but in where
0:23:03 > 0:23:08he played it and the new younger audience that he created for it.
0:23:08 > 0:23:11Boulez took his BBC Symphony Orchestra players to perform
0:23:11 > 0:23:14a series of Proms here at the Roundhouse in Camden,
0:23:14 > 0:23:17a sort of Royal Albert Hall in miniature.
0:23:17 > 0:23:21And it was here that Pierre Boulez and the BBC Symphony Orchestra
0:23:21 > 0:23:23made contemporary music hip.
0:23:23 > 0:23:26It all started on 6th November, 1971.
0:24:06 > 0:24:08This then is the Roundhouse!
0:24:08 > 0:24:11The Arena! Hail, gladiators all.
0:24:11 > 0:24:14Monsieur Boulez is at the stand,
0:24:14 > 0:24:18maestro furioso of orchestral karate.
0:24:20 > 0:24:23We tried to do contemporary Proms in the Roundhouse,
0:24:23 > 0:24:27and it was very interesting because you had a different audience.
0:24:27 > 0:24:30Of course much smaller, but very interesting
0:24:30 > 0:24:34and I had a very good memory
0:24:34 > 0:24:38of these Proms in the Roundhouse, I must say.
0:24:38 > 0:24:43And there I remember I performed contemporary music exclusively.
0:24:43 > 0:24:45THEY VOCALISE LOUDLY
0:24:52 > 0:24:55THROATY VOCALISATIONS
0:25:06 > 0:25:09THEY BARK AND YELL
0:25:12 > 0:25:14LAUGHTER
0:25:21 > 0:25:24APPLAUSE
0:25:34 > 0:25:36It was all connected.
0:25:36 > 0:25:39If the Roundhouse was Boulez letting his hair down,
0:25:39 > 0:25:41metaphorically speaking at least,
0:25:41 > 0:25:44then it was still part of his bigger project - to change the repertoires
0:25:44 > 0:25:48of the orchestras he conducted decisively towards the 20th century.
0:27:12 > 0:27:17This Omnibus documentary, Bejart + Boulez = Ballet,
0:27:17 > 0:27:20reported from the premiere at La Scala, Milan, in 1973
0:27:20 > 0:27:23of the provocative French choreographer Maurice Bejart's
0:27:23 > 0:27:27daring new ballet set to Boulez's Le Marteau Sans Maitre.
0:28:49 > 0:28:53For over three decades, Boulez conducted at least one Prom a year,
0:28:53 > 0:28:57turning the Royal Albert Hall into the nation's village hall
0:28:57 > 0:29:00of modernism and dazzling orchestral colour.
0:36:10 > 0:36:12Boulez showed his brilliance as a political
0:36:12 > 0:36:15and cultural operator in the 1970s
0:36:15 > 0:36:17when, at the invitation of President Georges Pompidou,
0:36:17 > 0:36:22he established in Paris the underground laboratory of IRCAM -
0:36:22 > 0:36:26the Institute for Research and Coordination Acoustic/Music,
0:36:26 > 0:36:29a labyrinth of computer music studios directly under
0:36:29 > 0:36:32the temple of modern art that is the Pompidou Centre.
0:36:32 > 0:36:36I think, for the first time in the world, as a matter of fact,
0:36:36 > 0:36:41that the state creates a centre for 20th-century art,
0:36:41 > 0:36:4320th-century expression, I would like to say.
0:36:43 > 0:36:46Generally, museums are for the past
0:36:46 > 0:36:52but here the idea was to build not only a museum but a centre of life.
0:36:52 > 0:36:54And the result is really astonishing
0:36:54 > 0:36:57because the architecture was stunning
0:36:57 > 0:37:01and people were flocking absolutely to this place
0:37:01 > 0:37:05because the architecture was so attractive - controversial, even.
0:37:05 > 0:37:08And for me, it remains,
0:37:08 > 0:37:11of course, the past, the recent past, let's say,
0:37:11 > 0:37:15but also it is the door to the future.
0:39:07 > 0:39:09Pierre Boulez was always one of my heroes.
0:39:09 > 0:39:14I think there's a whole generation for whom he is an incredible hero.
0:39:14 > 0:39:16And pianissimo.
0:39:16 > 0:39:20I was lucky enough to play under him in the National Youth Orchestra
0:39:20 > 0:39:22when I was 15.
0:39:22 > 0:39:27He was an unforgettable experience, in terms of what he was and what
0:39:27 > 0:39:33he knew and the generosity with which he approached all musicians.
0:39:33 > 0:39:36Two, one, two...
0:39:36 > 0:39:40He just came with a whole other view and I realise how deeply
0:39:40 > 0:39:42I have been affected by that.
0:39:47 > 0:39:51The marvellous thing with young people, that's their devotion.
0:39:51 > 0:39:53To rehearse with them,
0:39:53 > 0:39:56you have the impression that you have them in your hands, literally.
0:39:56 > 0:39:59There is not a single moment of inattention
0:39:59 > 0:40:03and, when they perform, you see all these eyes direct to you
0:40:03 > 0:40:07and you feel much more responsible than with professional orchestras.
0:40:10 > 0:40:13He taught a whole generation of us
0:40:13 > 0:40:17how much great music there was that we simply didn't know.
0:40:19 > 0:40:22Schoenberg has the reputation of being boring,
0:40:22 > 0:40:24of being monotonous,
0:40:24 > 0:40:26of being intellectual.
0:40:26 > 0:40:31That is one of the most emotional composers of the century.
0:44:19 > 0:44:22On the eve of the new millennium in 1999, Boulez,
0:44:22 > 0:44:24now in his mid-70s,
0:44:24 > 0:44:28agreed for once to look back rather than forward and he gave an in-depth
0:44:28 > 0:44:32interview to the then controller of Radio 3, Roger Wright.
0:45:00 > 0:45:03You took a decision not to follow maths or engineering
0:45:03 > 0:45:06when you were young, but to follow music and make that your life.
0:45:06 > 0:45:08Why did you take that decision?
0:45:08 > 0:45:12I think that's a question of life or death, so I mean,
0:45:12 > 0:45:15if you want to do something, you want to do it,
0:45:15 > 0:45:20and I am not the first one to do that. I mean...
0:45:20 > 0:45:22The hurdles don't exist any more.
0:45:22 > 0:45:26You have to make your decision and you know that if you don't do it
0:45:26 > 0:45:30you will be not only unhappy but you will miss the purpose of your life,
0:45:30 > 0:45:33and therefore that's not a difficult decision.
0:45:33 > 0:45:38It's a very simple decision and, you know, I did it naturally
0:45:38 > 0:45:42and whoever would be against it, I will fight.
0:46:04 > 0:46:07PIANO MUSIC CONTINUES
0:46:09 > 0:46:12Ah, non, excusez-moi, c'est ma faute.
0:46:12 > 0:46:15HE SPEAKS QUIETLY IN FRENCH
0:46:22 > 0:46:25Why don't you just say, "Enough of conducting,
0:46:25 > 0:46:29"I'll conduct my own pieces and the rest of the time I'll devote to composing"?
0:46:29 > 0:46:32Yes, but I mean, when you see,
0:46:32 > 0:46:36believe me, when you see still the programmes of institutions,
0:46:36 > 0:46:43sometimes you are really 30 or 40 or 50 years backwards.
0:46:43 > 0:46:46Recently, I have seen the programme of an organisation
0:46:46 > 0:46:47and I was looking at that
0:46:47 > 0:46:50and the great novelty was Beethoven's symphonies.
0:46:50 > 0:46:52Can we take figure one, please?
0:46:52 > 0:46:56'You have to make the audience aware that there is something else.'
0:46:56 > 0:46:57Three...
0:46:57 > 0:47:01BRASS SECTION PLAYS
0:47:01 > 0:47:04A flat, C natural.
0:47:05 > 0:47:08One...two...
0:47:08 > 0:47:09three...
0:47:09 > 0:47:10BRASS PLAYS
0:47:10 > 0:47:12Yeah. And the G.
0:47:12 > 0:47:16Yes. There are three tones, I want to have them. Three.
0:47:18 > 0:47:20One...
0:47:20 > 0:47:22BRASS PLAYS
0:47:22 > 0:47:24Two, three.
0:47:24 > 0:47:29No. You don't... You don't begin together. Can we do that again?
0:49:52 > 0:49:55It's emerged that one of the world's most famous composers,
0:49:55 > 0:49:57Pierre Boulez, was briefly detained by Swiss police
0:49:57 > 0:50:00on suspicion of being linked to terrorist activities.
0:50:00 > 0:50:04Our Paris correspondent, James Coomarasamy, has been investigating.
0:50:04 > 0:50:06Pierre Boulez, the renowned composer and conductor,
0:50:06 > 0:50:09was sleeping in his five-star Swiss hotel
0:50:09 > 0:50:11when police dragged him from bed
0:50:11 > 0:50:15and informed him he was on their national list of terrorist suspects.
0:50:15 > 0:50:19The 75-year-old, who once conducted the BBC Symphony Orchestra, had
0:50:19 > 0:50:23his passport confiscated for three hours before he was free to go.
0:50:23 > 0:50:26Strangely, it wasn't a case of mistaken identity.
0:50:26 > 0:50:28In the revolutionary 1960s,
0:50:28 > 0:50:32it seems that Boulez said that opera houses should be blown up,
0:50:32 > 0:50:37comments which the Swiss felt made him a potential security threat.
0:50:37 > 0:50:42Adding to the surrealism of Boulez, terror suspect, it's ironic that
0:50:42 > 0:50:46he should be hauled up for those polemics at this point in his life
0:50:46 > 0:50:51because decades after he roared as a young lion of the avant-garde,
0:50:51 > 0:50:54Boulez was now the embodiment of the establishment.
0:50:58 > 0:51:01For some, Pierre Boulez has been the most significant figure
0:51:01 > 0:51:03in classical music for the past 50 years.
0:51:03 > 0:51:07I think Boulez' importance is quite simply,
0:51:07 > 0:51:11he changed all our lives. Had he not come to Britain, for a start,
0:51:11 > 0:51:14music here would have been so much the poorer.
0:51:16 > 0:51:19His years with the BBC Symphony Orchestra
0:51:19 > 0:51:23were absolutely mind-blowing for all of us who experienced them.
0:51:25 > 0:51:27For others, he's a die-hard modernist
0:51:27 > 0:51:29whose uncompromising approach
0:51:29 > 0:51:33has stifled the very creativity that he set out to nurture.
0:51:33 > 0:51:36My feeling is that it's a cul-de-sac,
0:51:36 > 0:51:41which is of great interest to musicians
0:51:41 > 0:51:45but doesn't really lead anywhere for the general audience.
0:51:45 > 0:51:48In a career dominated by brilliance and controversy,
0:51:48 > 0:51:51Boulez denounced the classical establishment
0:51:51 > 0:51:54and artists who in his view refused to be progressive.
0:51:54 > 0:51:58During a break from rehearsals, I asked if he had mellowed at all.
0:51:58 > 0:52:03Well, I think I am maybe more tolerant than I was when I was 20,
0:52:03 > 0:52:09certainly, but the tolerance - my tolerance has limits, I must say.
0:52:09 > 0:52:14You know, I am interested with people who are going forward.
0:52:14 > 0:52:18I am not really very interested in people who are looking backward
0:52:18 > 0:52:20or staying where they were.
0:55:48 > 0:55:51APPLAUSE
0:55:51 > 0:55:53Boulez conducting Janacek,
0:55:53 > 0:55:56one of the discoveries of his later years as a conductor.
0:55:56 > 0:56:02He was always searching, always revising his opinion in the same way
0:56:02 > 0:56:06that he revised and reworked so many of his compositions.
0:56:06 > 0:56:10And that open-endedness is, I think,
0:56:10 > 0:56:14his challenge and his invitation to all of us, to the musical future,
0:56:14 > 0:56:18because just as so many of his works are actually
0:56:18 > 0:56:21endlessly proliferating sets of musical possibility,
0:56:21 > 0:56:25rather than definitively completed works, so too,
0:56:25 > 0:56:30his life work, his project, wasn't complete at the time of his death.
0:56:30 > 0:56:31His real legacy is
0:56:31 > 0:56:36to wake up musical culture to the necessity of the contemporary.
0:56:36 > 0:56:38I cannot imagine myself
0:56:38 > 0:56:41just going on with a routine which was before me -
0:56:41 > 0:56:47not because I want to revolutionise everything, no, but I mean...
0:56:47 > 0:56:52to be in history, that's like being on a bicycle.
0:56:52 > 0:56:57If you are on a bicycle, you have to move to keep your balance
0:56:57 > 0:57:01and exactly that, you have to move, otherwise you just fall down.
0:57:01 > 0:57:05We're going to end this selection of Pierre Boulez at the BBC
0:57:05 > 0:57:07once again at the Royal Albert Hall.
0:57:07 > 0:57:13In 2012, the pianist and conductor Daniel Barenboim led his West-Eastern Divan Orchestra
0:57:13 > 0:57:15in a grand selection of Boulez's pieces.