Review: Pierre Boulez Today

Reviewed Work(s): Penser la musique aujourd'hui by Pierre Boulez

Review by: Michel P. Philippot and David Hamilton
Source: Perspectives of New Music, Vol. 5, No. 1 (Autumn - Winter, 1966), pp. 153-160
Published by: Perspectives of New Music
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/832396
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PIERRE BOULEZ TODAY

Reviewed by MICHEL P. PHILIPPOT

Pierre Boulez: Penser la musique au-

pity the poets who are guided only by
jourd'hui. Paris: Gonthier, 1964;
instinct; I think them incomplete....
170 pp. [German translation, asIt is impossible that a poet should not
Musikdenken heute I, by Josefcontain a critic."
Htiusler and Pierre Stoll. Mainz: But for the creator nothing is more
Schott, 1963. 123 pp.] difficult-and, I would have said, more
dangerous-than this urge toward
One of the favorite subjects of the
critical lucidity. In point of fact, we
present generation of writers have
speak-
never yet seen an author ex-
ing (or aspiring to speak) about mu- and commenting in advance
plaining
sic is the rapidity of its evolution.on the work he has not yet written;
Even a brief glance cast over the con-
even the most intelligent criticism, in
siderable critical literature travels
our era, is still only a glance toward
rapidly between extremes of fear theand
past, albeit perhaps the most im-
enthusiasm, through the diverse mediate
wind- past. If to consider tomorrow
ings of perplexity. The fear arises in to the fields of fiction and
belongs
connection with the denial of this science, if to consider and judge yes-
evolution-which it is, however, neces-terday belongs to the commentator,
sary to confirm strongly. Herethen we to consider today belongs only to
witness evidence of the eternal fear the creator, as long as he creates, i.e.
of risk-because there is always a riskbuilds, his today (which is also ours).
in doing something new, even in Any explication or exegesis can only
merely accepting the new; it is alwayspush the work into the past, to con-
simpler, and safer, to patch up andsolidate it or to destroy it-at best,
scrub down the old monuments that to place it in a tradition that will be
have already proved themselves,the foundation of future works-but,
than to construct new ones that will in any case, to destroy its contempo-
bear witness for our own age. Theraneity.
enthusiasm, on the other hand, is A book such as this one leads us
sometimes maladroit; from wishing to irresistibly to reflect upon the fragile
demonstrate that the movement is ac- thinness of our "today." Boulez' merit
tually marching, one ends up toler- is precisely his awareness of this fra-
ating a circular march at the end of gility: "There is no doubt that the
a blind alley (to be sure, dead men do composer, as long as he is immersed
not march, but it is possible to die as in the creation of the work, fabricates
a result of marching incorrectly). for himself a psychology of short-term
This is why it is essential that infallibility; without this temporary
criticism sometimes be done by the compass-needle-'I am absolutely
creators themselves, that the road trav- right'-he would hesitate to venture
eled be evaluated by those who them- upon virgin territories. This reflex is
selves opened it, and the signs be a healthy one; it will permit him to
posted only by those who know where proceed to the end of the uncertain
the road leads. That is why such a journey that he must complete before
work as Penser la musique aujourd'hui his work is done. Nevertheless, during
is illuminated, on its first page, with the journey, he finds it indispensable
this quotation from Baudelaire: "I to estimate the distances he has tray-
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 PERSPECTIVES OF NEW MUSIC

eled, to take his bearings-in short,

short term, but for the shortest term
to assure himself that he does not possible: that of the present. For we
swerve from his purpose."'1 must not lose sight of the fact that
It should not be forgotten that this can never be analyzed (save at
action
"healthy reflex" also desires to the be-
risk of very serious errors) except
come permanent. I have never yet asmet
the instant that brings about the
next
a creator, in whatever discipline, whoinstant, as the motive force of
does not believe that he is construct- evolution. And the "today" can then
only be analyzed as if it were a meas-
ing a work destined not only for him-
self and his contemporaries, buture alsoof the speed of evolution at the
for posterity. This "I am absolutely moment in question, and an evalua-
tion of the risks to be run in the choice
right" applies not only to the "today"
of the act of creation, but to "tomor-
of roads. Insofar as Pierre Boulez is
row" too, and to an infinite number aware of this state of things-and he
of "tomorrows," in that it impliesproves
the that he is-he thinks much less
hope of leaving an indelible traceabouton music than he practices it, and
the history of human thought or of
therein, no doubt, lies his value.
human ability to experience esthetic We can, then, ask ourselves a ques-
emotion. In the worst cases, this tion that, although seemingly only
"healthy reflex" may be merely pre- distantly related to the subject treated
by Boulez, may nevertheless enlighten
tentious; in the best, it may be proud--
doing honor to the human spirit (we us: in what way does musical evolu-
will ignore here its pathological forms,
tion "today" differ from evolution in
of the psychoanalytic or pseudo-reli-earlier times? It would surely be an
gious varieties). It remains now error
to to think that it is characterized
examine the extent to which this reflex
by its rapidity-that is the result of
is short-term.
a trivial illusion, similar to the one by
In order to do that, we must dis- which nearby objects appear to move
sociate the intention from the action. faster than distant objects. I would
As we have just seen, the intentionassert
is that musical evolution in our
always to take possession of a perma-era is slower than it was in the past-
I do not fear accusations that I am
nent infallibility. On the other hand,
the action, and each of the gestures deliberately employing paradox-and
which comprise it, demands at leastI cite
a as proof of this assertion the
minimum of lucidity, which destroys fact that more time separates us from
that sensation of permanence, reduc- Wagner's birth than passed between
ing it to the dimensions of what we the birth of Bach and that of Wagner.
might call the "today." Now, a work On the other hand, this evolution, for-
like Penser la musique aujourd'hui merly rapid but with a decisive stride,
puts a much greater emphasis on ac- has now become irresolute. Whereas
tion than on thought, on practice than
our predecessors faced simple alterna-
on speculation-to be exact, 132 pagestives-whether to accept chromaticism,
out of 170. This simple statistic is or
a impressionism; whether to advance
or to halt-we find ourselves con-
compliment, a certificate of the work's
vitality, but at the same time it leads
fronted by crossroads whose luxuriant
us to form reservations about the sen- branchings leave us perplexed. It is
sation of infallibility that seems to no longer sufficient to march; once
inform each of its terms, and that no again, it is necessary to choose a road.
longer appears to be simply for a We know that Boulez has chosen
1 Page 15 [German edition, p. 16]; my italics.

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 COLLOQUY AND REVIEW

such a road, not only with an Infallible

exem- and definitive, in fact, we
plary certainty but also with an envia-
find each of the pages (and they are
ble splendor. We may then ask our- numerous) that are strictly
the most
selves, since the soundness of the musi-
devoted to musical technique-those
that have,
cian's vision is abundantly proved by above all, a pedagogical
his success, why the theoreticianaspect.
mani- These pages are magisterial,
fests bitterness.2 In all logic, both
is itinnot
the usual extended sense of
evident that the most elementary role and in the more rigorous
that word
of the theoretician is preciselysense
to open
which is etymologically proper.
the way to those who will beAnd, his atepi-
the point where he must draw
gones, those whom he will later be from his description of one
a moral
privileged to accuse of plagiarism? In
of the most fertile parts of the con-
view of this, we may be surprised temporary musical sphere, the author
that he so vigorously denounces makesthe
his intentions perfectly explicit:
epigones of others, because his
I have progressed from the most
strength comes precisely from his cer-
tainty that the others are wrong. elementary to the most general
What weight would his truth have ifplane in order to indicate clearly
it could not be opposed by the "errors"that I was not simply compiling a
of others? And further, in his capacitycatalogue of more-or-less profitable
as creator, what importance would re-procedures; rather, by devoting my-
main for his own works (safeguards self to a methodical investigation of
of his sensation of infallibility) if sothe musical universe, by deducing
much importance is granted to the multiple inferences from a certain
works of which he disapproves? Obvi-number of rational points of depar-
ture, I have tried to construct a
ously, there would be no more room
coherent system. More than the ex-
for masterpieces in a world already
crammed with them. I should have plicit attainments which are either
preferred the author to be much more its source or its consequence, it is
the methods of investigation and the
a dispenser of truth than a guardian
quest for a coherent system that I
of more secret-and uselessly aggres-
sive-truths. consider indispensable as a basis for
all creation.3

BUT THESE reservations about the

A statement so clearly and honestly
presentation of the work coulddefined
not implies an attitude that de-
detain us long, since we have resolved
sires to be critical while creating, and
to grant a certificate of good health to that this attitude is the result
implies
the aforementioned reflex of infalli-
of a method of investigation, of a
bility, in which we will challenge only
quest, and of putting into practice
the bearer's awareness of its being these latter, which are themselves the
"short-term"; the absence of this sen-result of a choice-both a choice of
sation of the ephemeral is also a method and of the results of this
"healthy reflex." It is preferable to method. I should like to take advan-
consider how, why, and in what re-tage of the opportunity this presents
spects Penser la musique aujourd'huito consider the accusation of "'sec-
appears to us to be a work at once
tarianism" that is too often raised
infallible and definitive. against those who deliberately adopt
2 I allude here to the useless and anon- [German edition, pp. 13-28].
ymous vituperations that are expressed in 3 Page 166 [German edition, p. 122];
the first part of the book; cf. pp. 16-33 my italics.

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 PERSPECTIVES OF NEW MUSIC

a predetermined system powerful aid-indeed,

and justify it stimulant-to
in their works. This typethe
ofimagination.
accusation Boulez says further:
is, moreover, habitually brought by
those who, unable to decide, make the
Let no one maintain against me
that such an approach leads to ster-
perilous choice of remaining unde-
ility, that it kills all fantasy and-
cided. Now, it is an established fact
since it is necessary to pronounce
in the history of human thought that
this fateful word-inspiration. I am
dilettantism and eclecticism have never
far from seeing in the pursuit of a
been the generating forces behind method, in the establishment of a
durable works. I believe that it is al-
system, merely a drying-up of the
ways preferable to advance along anfaculties; on the contrary, I see in
unsurveyed road, with all the risks it the most powerful form of inven-
that this involves, even of getting lost,
tion, one in which the imagination
than to remain standing at the inter-
plays an important, even determin-
section, contemplating the variousing role.4
roads. Besides, the artist or researcher
who takes this risk is always repaid"Towards music we have first of all
for his efforts; far from being hemmed a duty," says Igor Stravinsky, "to in-
in by the twisting of his successive vent it." This sentence, if we reflect
choices, he discovers at each step new on it even briefly, should oblige us to
crossroads, new possibilities. Also,ask if ourselves some questions about the
we observe that, in the domain of teaching of music-not to performers,
artistic creation as in many others, but to those who feel themselves des-
every unrealized intention, every un-tined to be composers-i.e. inventors.
practiced theory remains-if not trulyWe have already said that the peda-
nonexistent-at least in a state of mere gogical aspect of Boulez' book is mag-
potentiality, we see how much the isterial; this is because we are dealing
discovery and choice of a road is con- with one of the very rare works where
fused with the construction of a sys- there is a far-reaching discussion not
tem. The notion of coherence demands only of techniques already employed,
that each of the elements of this sys-but also of the various ins and outs of
tem be organically related to the musical reasoning. From Boulez' de-
whole, but the connections are gen- scription, we learn how music invents
erally in two directions: the parts itself. Not that we are therefore capa-
justify the whole, but the whole justi- ble of ourselves inventing it in our
fies each of the parts. The construction turn; I believe it would be foolish to
of musical coherence is, then, not so expect to discover a teaching method
different from that of logical or mathe- capable of bestowing imagination on
matical coherence: the rules of the anyone previously bereft of it. But at
game are chosen, and they mustleast be we acquire a rather precise idea
observed. It matters little if the de- of the way one sets about (or might
vising of these rules be the expression set about) inventing. However, since
of a foregone conclusion, since nothing in Boulez' pedagogy this evocation of
new can be conceived otherwise. The the genesis of musical thought emerges
foregone conclusion is, then, one only of through the detailed description
the conditions of creation. Finally,of lettechnique, and as a by-product (or,
us not forget that the formation of a
rather, an over-product) of such de-
coherent system, or merely the effort scription, we too must give priority to
necessary to investigate one, is this a technique.
4 Ibid.

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 COLLOQUY AND REVIEW

to relations of pitch (as did Schoen-

We know that, for many centuries,
berg's series), but extending to all
priority has been given in Western
music to relations of pitch, to aspects of the sound event. The re-
the detri-
ment of other aspects of sound (dura-
maining task was not of showing that
tion, timbre, intensity). This such a conception of music belonged
priority
implies the existence of a hierarchy to a system as coherent as that of
among the various constituents of the
traditional composition, but of setting
musical phenomenon. We now forthknow
this new system in intelligible
how artificial such a hierarchy (and coherent)
may terms, while demon-
be; but we also know that instrating mattersthat it was in no way a matter
of artistic creation the artificial over- of a revolution, but rather an evolu-
comes the natural when it is imposed tion as natural as it was inevitable.
upon us by a long period of condi-It is certainly no secret that the
tioning. Old habits, held for severalmost coherent systems are the most
centuries, are not overturned easily,difficult to set forth. In fact, coherence
or with impunity, and their impor- and rigor impose an equal importance
tance would be misunderstood if they on each element of the structure; let
were regarded merely as "second na- one single stone be removed, and the
ture." It was, therefore, quite natu-whole collapses. However, even the
ral" that the serial awakening came best-balanced logic must submit to a
first in the area of pitch-distribution.
linear order, to an equally logical suc-
The totality of the works of the
cession in the wording of its elements.
Viennese school initiated an evolution It must, therefore, in the unfolding of
whose radical aspect was to appear
discourse, submit to a chronological
only in the years following the war, hierarchy, even when the propositions
when the rediscovery of the works of
announced at the conclusion of the
Schoenberg, Berg, and Webern-until reasoning illuminate and nail down
then concealed from our ears by tire- the postulates from which that reason-
some political circumstances as much ing began. It is necessary, then, to ask
as by stupid incomprehension-pro- a good deal of the reader-or, at least,
voked a seething of ideas in our musi- to trust him not to grant greater im-
cal life. In this seething of ideas, a portance
de- to the first-mentioned propo-
cisive turning point was to be sitions
pro- than to later ones. In this re-
vided by a piano piece by Olivier
spect the theoretician must run a risk,
Messiaen, Modes de valeur et d'inten-
and one not basically very different
site, in which equal importance wasfrom that which a creator accepts.
granted to pitches, durations, and in-
Considering our brief observations
tensity of sounds. Brought, in the above
year about Western musical habits,
of its appearance, to the Kranich-
I think Boulez was wise to model his
steiner Musik-Institut in Darmstadt, account of today's musical techniques
which has been, up to the present, liv- upon these habits of yesterday: to go
ing music's most important crossroads from the familiar to the unfamiliar, to
of ideas, this work was a determining take advantage of a maximum of his-
factor in orientating the thought torical references (even if they are
of the most gifted composers.5 At the merely implicit) in order to explain
same time, there crystallized one of the present. It is for this reason that
Boulez' most fruitful ideas, that of the we find in Penser la musique au-
"generalized" series, applying not only jourd'hui this hierarchy of values (a
5 Boulez writes, at the beginning of his stadt, for Darmstadt, as a token of sym-
book: "To Dr. Wolfgang Steinecke, I pathy and friendship."
dedicate these studies written in Darm-

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 PERSPECTIVES OF NEW MUSIC

psychologist would call itregard them as those common to all-

a hierarchy
of levels of perception) that places pedagogy.
too-perfect the No task, in fact,
pitch of sounds first, then is more
their delicate
dura-than that of instruc-
tions, and then their timbres-no tion in esthetic matters, because there
longer as an established gradation be-is always the danger that a lesson
tween degrees of importance, but as given
a too well will open the way for
progression in a logical development. those destined to be imitators rather
The author's ability (or wisdom) ap-than creators. For my part, I should
pears next after he has taken us for like
a to be certain that Boulez has not
first analytical reconnaissance, in the
increased the already considerable
manner he employs for returning to anumber of his epigones by making
more global view, to a synthetic de-them believe, by his skill, that musical
scription. We are rarely privileged toimagination is not so uncommon, and
witness so lucid a demonstration, that it can live without too much cost
upon riches already exploited. Al-
given by the craftsman himself, of the
means employed to attain perfection in
though I manifest some unhappiness
the exercise of his profession--whichabout this, I don't want to make an
is what the writing of music consistsunreasonable fuss about it. On the
of.
whole, and since we have already
Doubtless not the least merit of this agreed that musical thought is in-
virtuosity in the exposition of musicalseparable from the manner of its ap-
practice is that it constrains us to ask
plication, the risk Boulez has run is no
certain questions about musical greater than that inherent in the prac-
thought. In fact, contrary to what wetice of any pedagogical vocation: one
might imagine from a literature can teach only what has already been
marked by certain Romantic preju- done, or, at best, what is now being
dices, the thought never appeared todone, but never what will be done, and
us so inseparable from the action; or,hardly what might be done. At most,
rather, never has the existence of we may regret that the work under
music been as well illuminated by the discussion was not entitled, for ex-
demonstration of the fact that it is a ample, "My musical thought up to
matter of a thought in action. It has today," or rather, "My musical thought
never been so evident-and this is in- up to January 30, 1964."
dependent of the author's esthetic
opinions-that music is, above all, a
HAVING REACHED this point, and
physical organization of sound, made
to clear some misgivings about the
which only deepened knowledge of basis
the of musical pedagogy, it remains
profession of the musician andfor of us to make some important obser-
vations about the form of the book.
musical practice can give a real exist-
ence. The musical work can be written What strikes us when reading modern
texts on musical technique (I pur-
only because it is conceived, but it can
be conceived only to the extent that it
posely use the word "modern," with its
is practiced. restrictive meaning, rather than "con-
An exposition of Boulez' musical temporary") is the insufficiency of the
technique and of all the techniques terms of the traditional vocabulary for
now employed by the serial school, describing a technique that has
made with the sharpness that we passed beyond them. From all evi-
discern in Penser la musique au- dence, each profession-and that of
jourd'hui, might, however, present composer
cer- is no exception-presupposes
tain dangers. But, far from reproach-
the existence of its accompanying jar-
ing the author for these dangers,gon,
we which is indispensable for defin-
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 COLLOQUY AND REVIEW

ing the various aspects of its activity.growth (as happens in all evolution),
In passing, it might be observed rather
how than by a degeneracy. The
strange it is that this jargon, tolerated
terms appear to us as impoverished or
by every writer and for every audience artificially complicated to the degree
in nonmusical professions, should be have been overtaken by the
that they
considered incongruous and esoteri- proliferating ideas which they are
cally "technical" by a number forced of per- into expressing.
sons who profess to be "music critics." What we have just stated is by way
Although it is their uncontestable of answer to the accusations of ob-
privilege to demonstrate their literary scurity which certain insufficiently
virtuosity in the area of music in readers have leveled against
prepared
preference to actually talkingBoulez. aboutIt is, nevertheless, true that
music, we may still be surprised at often-and sometimes pain-
the author
the repugnance they manifest fully toward(not for himself, but for his
the most tangible aspects ofreaders) an art-runs up against this prob-
that they are supposed to understand lem of adapting a thought to an
(such as the preferences they proclaim appropriate terminology. To resolve
for "inspiration," unhappily opposed such problems, Boulez-like the ma-
to "technique"; what would the first jority of
of present writers dealing with
these be, if the second did not music permit(and not only on the subject of
its expression?). It must be admitted, music) -frequently has recourse to
however, that to talk about music the vocabulary habitually employed by
using such terms as "false relation" or mathematicians. In this matter, I sup-
"diminished seventh" should be as port him completely. In fact, mathe-
natural as to comment on architecture matical logic may be considered as the
using terms like "capital" or "canti-activity of the human spirit that, in
lever." If a writer is not reluctant to the course of the last decades, has
use terms proper to the material he ismade the most important, if not the
discussing, he should not experiencemost spectacular, advances. As a re-
any difficulty in making himself un- sult, its concepts, as well as its images,
derstood, in giving a verbal image asare the most precise and the best de-
coherent as the system that he de- fined, of such variety and richness
scribes or constructs. There have al- that they may be applied, without
ways been periods when the terminol- great effort of adaptation, to numer-
ogy of an art becomes insufficient for ous forms of thought, to which they
reporting its practice. The gloomy can bring a clarity otherwise difficult
critics willingly interpret this phenom-
to achieve. There are, however, some
enon as a symptom of the decadence dangers, which it is advisable to avoid.
of the art itself, which tries to conceal These dangers result from just this
potency of the mathematical vocabu-
its senility behind a curtain of esoteri-
cism, expressed through an artificiallary, which, because of its abstrac-
renewal of the vocabulary. This point tions, is clothed in an aura of mystery.
of view seems to me erroneous. With-
Thus, the temptation is very great to
out mistaking the fact that an enrich-
make a poetic (or pedantic) use of it,
ment of the vocabulary, or eventoa succumb to the attraction of the
deformation of the traditional termi-analogy whose foundations are more
nology, is the outward sign of a crisis
literary than logical. For this reason,
affecting the theory of an art, I be-one must scorn all artistic, literary, or
lieve that this crisis is generallypoetic pretensions when intending to
brought about by a violent upsurge ofdo the work of a theoretician. There
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 PERSPECTIVES OF NEW MUSIC

are terms6 which may be of mathematical

employed terminology to musi-
cal thought, toand
only with the greatest prudence, undertake a genuine
only after having warnedeffort
the at "translation,"
reader of term by term,
the limits imposed upon them,
of the the by mathematics
words employed
so as to and
meaning invested in them, bestowthe
upon them the re-
strictedsubmit.
discipline to which one must or enlarged meaning that
If this kind of precaution would be theirs
is not in music. This implies
taken,
there is the risk of transforming a labor of definition,
into or rather of re-
confusion what should be the most definition, the gain from which seems
precise expression of thought. After
to me certain. In the first place, music
having approved of-indeed, compli-itself would have nothing to lose from
it, as I doubt that even the sacrosanct
mented-Pierre Boulez for not having
feared recourse to the mathematical "inspiration" has anything to gain
vocabulary, I will then go furtherfrom in unawareness, ignorance, or sim-
this direction than he has, by re- ple imprecision of thought; to be con-
proaching him for not having done it vinced, one need only refer to the
with enough determination or rigor-- classical treatises of musical literature
in short, for not having behaved suf- and observe that these authors did
ficiently like a mathematician or everything in their power to be clear
logician. and precise. Further, musical theory
I realize how much the champions could only progress by acquiring a
of a traditional esthetic may be verbal tool better adapted to its con-
shocked by this type of reproach. I tinuing evolution. Finally, invention,
will reply to them that I am not here as much in the domain of composition
addressing the composer of Le Mar- as in that of mere explication, would
teau sans mattre, but the author of certainly find fresh nourishment, for
Penser la musique aujourd'hui, and while Pascal's famous rule-"Replace
that my admiration for the composerthe object by its definition"-certainly
is in no way vitiated by this reserva- gives excellent logical results, it is
tion I have about the theoretician and
equally satisfactory as a heuristic
pedagogue-not on account of the method.
theories he defends or the pedagogyAt this point, the temptation to
quote the last sentence of the book is
he practices, but because of the form
that he gives them. difficult to resist: "We have repeated
What I have just broached is, after
many times that music is a science as
all, an "academic" dispute, and I ammuch as an art; who will know how
aware of this. But the extent to which to blend these two entities in the same
we grant to the mathematical vocabu-crucible, if not the Imagination, that
lary the confidence it deserves must'queen of the faculties'?" We well
depend on the closeness of the equiva-know that, without imagination, music
lence between the ideas expressed andis neither science nor art. It is perhaps
the words employed. While I do notnot useless to recall, in considering a
for an instant doubt that such an work of musical theory, that science
equivalence exists in the mind of helps
theus to choose, from among the
author, I do have fears concerning fruits
its of the imagination, the best-if
exact communication to the mind of not for eternity, at least for our tem-
the reader. Moreover, it would be porary "today."
desirable, for an efficacious adaptation [Translated by David Hamilton]
6 For example, "to integrate" and "in-to use the word "homonym" when you
tegral," "to derive" and "derived," ormean "synonym."
"vector." Doubtless it is similarly serious
* 160 *

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