Theory IV – Asynchronous Class for Wed., March 24.

Expect this activity to take approximately 50 minutes (the length of a regular class)

In lieu of an in-person lecture, visit this online resource about Pierre Boulez’s Douze Notations
for piano. The interactive score no longer works due to the demise of flash, however, much can
be learned from the series of short interviews:
https://explorethescore.org/pierre-boulez-douze-notations-boulez-video-interview.html

Listen to each interview snippet, followed by each miniature piece after its video introduction
using this recording with a scrolling score: https://youtu.be/cD2SwVZBI80

Note: Not all the pieces are introduced, but be sure to listen to the entire set.

An homage to the number 12

(Info from the website)

Boulez's Douze Notations for piano were written during the final phase of his private studies
with Leibowitz and Messiaen. Having discovered the 12-note method in early 1945, the 20-year-
old composer first tried it out unsystematically in several still unpublished piano pieces and a
quartet for Ondes Martenot. Then, for the first time, he used it as the basis of an entire piece. The
design of Notations can be seen as a musical homage to the number 12: it consists of 12 short
pieces, each of which is 12 bars long. Each of these miniatures has its own distinctive character,
with sharp contrasts not only between the pieces but sometimes within a single piece. The
element they all have in common is a 12-note row that is employed in different ways throughout
the pieces, thereby creating coherence on the level of the musical material (see the music
example). But Notations is not a rigidly 12-note work, for Boulez treats the technique he learned
from Leibowitz with great freedom. The row is used not only horizontally and vertically but also
in permutation, split and fragmented into segments. There are also many repeated notes, clusters,
glissandos and various forms of ostinato.

Upload responses to the questions below to Canvas for an in-class grade due Friday, March 26.

1) Boulez refers to other composers/styles and how this context informs a musician’s
interpretation and approach to a piece. Name at least three composers Boulez mentions in the
video interviews.

2a) To what extent does Boulez discuss any serial techniques driving the underlying structure of
these pieces?
2b) Boulez uses “familiar” terms such as phrase, variation, patterns, etc. to describe the music.
List at least three additional examples of “familiar” terms used in the videos:

3) Boulez refers to the music of several other cultures as influential to the composition of several
movements. Name one country/culture he points out specifically.

4a) Which of the 12 short pieces did you find the most interesting or stood out to you in
particular? What features drew you to this piece?

4b) Describe the music: texture, interaction of hands/lines, mood/character, aspects regarding
time/rhythm/meter, dynamics/articulations, etc.

4c) Did the interview introduction to the piece help you better understand/appreciate this
particular movement? Why or why not?