NEWS RELEASE
Pierre Boulez leads The Cleveland Orchestra
in all-French program featuring music by Debussy,
Messiaen, and Ravel on February 4, 6, and 7
Concerts are part of international celebrations of Boulez’s 85th birthday
Pierre-Laurent Aimard is soloist in Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G major and Concerto for the Left Hand
CLEVELAND, January 12, 2010 – In the first week of Cleveland concerts marking the 85th birthday year and the 45th anniversary year of Pierre Boulez’s American professional orchestra debut with The Cleveland Orchestra, the conductor/composer will lead the Orchestra in a program of French music including Debussy’s “Ibéria” from Images and Messiaen’s L’Ascension at Severance Hall on Thursday, February 4, at 8 p.m., Saturday, February 6, at 8:00 p.m., and Sunday, February 7, at 3:00 p.m. Mr. Boulez will also conduct the Orchestra in concerts on February 11, 12, and 13, featuring music by Mahler. (A separate concert announcement will follow.)
The program for February 4, 6, and 7 begins with Olivier Messiaen’s L’Ascension (Four Symphonic Meditations). Next is Maurice Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G major. After intermission, the program continues with Ravel’s Piano Concerto in D major for the Left Hand. The program concludes with Claude Debussy’s “Ibéria” from Images.
Mr. Boulez, who from 1970-72 served as musical advisor of The Cleveland Orchestra, turns 85 on March 26. He has been a regular and favorite guest conductor of the Orchestra, leading more than 200 concerts. Among his many recordings with the Orchestra, five have won Grammy Awards, including the 1969 award in the “Best Classical Performance, Orchestra” category, for their album including Debussy’s Images.
When Pierre Boulez turned 80, the Chicago Sun-Times wrote, “… how many enfants terribles of the music world have lived to see their work, their contributions as composers, conductors and advocates celebrated around the world as they mark their 80th birthdays? The category is unique, and the sole designate is Pierre Boulez.”
Pierre-Laurent Aimard will be soloist in both of the Ravel piano concertos, which will be recorded live for future release on the Deutsche Gramophone label. Mr. Boulez and Mr. Aimard have worked together as colleagues over many years, since Pierre Boulez appointed Mr. Aimard (then age 19) as the first solo pianist of the Ensemble Intercontemporain – the Paris-based contemporary music ensemble Mr. Boulez founded in 1976.
Guest Artist Biographies
Pierre Boulez
French composer and conductor Pierre Boulez is regarded as one of the world’s most distinguished musicians. His 2009 Kyoto Prize affirms the importance of his compositions and activities as author, teacher, and advocate of contemporary music.
Mr. Boulez made his American professional orchestra debut with The Cleveland Orchestra in March 1965. In 1969, he became the Orchestra’s first principal guest conductor. Following the death of Music Director George Szell in July 1970, he served as musical advisor through the 1971-72 season. Since then, he has been a frequent guest conductor with the Orchestra, most recently in February 2008.
Pierre Boulez was born in 1925 in Montbrison, France. After initial training in mathematics, he studied piano, composition, and choral conducting at the Paris Conservatory, where his teachers included Olivier Messiaen and René Leibowitz. In 1953, Mr. Boulez founded a modern music concert series that later became the Domaine Musical. Throughout the next decade, he taught at Basel University and in Darmstadt, and was a visiting professor at Harvard University. He later joined the faculty at the Collège de France.
In 1971, Pierre Boulez became music director of both the BBC Symphony Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic; he held the posts until 1975 and 1977, respectively. In 1974, French President Georges Pompidou invited Mr. Boulez to establish and direct a music research center – the Institut de Recherche et de Coordination Acoustique/Musique (IRCAM). He also founded the Ensemble InterContemporain, and now holds honorary positions with both organizations.
Pierre Boulez has fostered close relationships with the world’s major orchestras and opera companies. His conducting highlights include the inaugural concert of the Cité de la musique in Paris; a four-orchestra festival of his compositions in Tokyo; tours with the London Symphony Orchestra celebrating his 70th, 75th, and 80th birthdays; and new productions of Bartók’s Bluebeard’s Castle, Schoenberg’s Moses and Aron, and Wagner’s Parsifal. More recently, Mr. Boulez has led Janáček’s From the House of the Dead in Aix-en-Provence, Amsterdam, and Vienna; served as composer-in-residence at Salzburg’s Mozartwoche; and conducted Mahler’s complete symphonies at Carnegie Hall.
An exclusive Deutsche Grammophon artist since 1992, Pierre Boulez has focused his discography on 20th-century works. His recordings have garnered Gramophone, Echo, and Deutscher Schallplatten awards and more than 25 Grammys. Mr. Boulez also has received the Glenn Gould Prize and Wolf Prize, numerous honorary doctorates, and many other awards.
Pierre-Laurent Aimard
French pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard is acclaimed as a key figure in both the music of our time and the standard piano repertoire. He made his Cleveland Orchestra debut in February 1996. Mr. Aimard appeared with the Orchestra at the Lucerne Festival in August 2008, in the world premiere of George Benjamin’s Duet for piano and orchestra, and in subsequent performances of the work at Severance Hall in September 2008 and at Carnegie Hall in February 2009. He served as artist-in-residence with the Orchestra for the 2007-08 and 2008-09 seasons.
Born in Lyon, France, in 1957, Pierre-Laurent Aimard studied at the Paris Conservatory with Yvonne Loriod, and in London with Maria Curcio. He received first prize in the 1973 Messiaen Competition and was appointed at age 19 by Pierre Boulez as the Ensemble Inter¬Contemporain’s first solo pianist. For nearly 20 years, Mr. Aimard collaborated with György Ligeti, and he has recorded Ligeti’s complete works. Pierre-Laurent Aimard received the Royal Philharmonic Society’s Instrumentalist Award in 2005 and 2006, and was named Musical America’s Instrumentalist of the Year in 2007.
Mr. Aimard performs with the world’s leading orchestras and conductors. He made his Carnegie Hall debut in 2001 and maintains a regular relationship there, as well as with the Berlin Philharmonic, Konzerthaus Vienna, Lucerne Festival, Mozarteum Salzburg, Philharmonie Cologne, and the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels. His teaching activities include professorships in Paris and Cologne, as well as concert lectures and workshops worldwide. Mr. Aimard served as inaugural artist-in-residence at the Salle de Concerts Grande-Duchesse Josephine-Charlotte in Luxembourg in 2005 to 2006, became an artistic partner with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra in 2006, and in 2008 was artistic director of the Southbank Centre’s Messiaen centenary festival in London. In 2009, he became artistic director of the Aldeburgh Festival in England.
Pierre-Laurent Aimard has an extensive discography with Sony Classical and Teldec, and now records exclusively for Deutsche Grammophon. His first DG release, “Bach’s Art of the Fugue,” won the Diapason d’Or award and the prize for the Choc du Monde de la Musique. Mr. Aimard also has received two ECHO Classic Awards: in 2003 for his recording of the complete Beethoven Piano Concertos, and in 2004 for Debussy’s Images and Etudes. His recording of Ives’s “Concord” Sonata and Songs with Susan Graham garnered a 2005 Grammy Award. Mr. Aimard’s recent releases include solo works by Carter, Messiaen, and Ravel, and the Mozart piano concertos, which he conducted from the keyboard.
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Pierre-Laurent Aimard’s appearance as soloist with The Cleveland Orchestra is made possible by a gift to the Orchestra’s Guest Artist Fund from The Sherwick Fund
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Cleveland Orchestra’s 2009-10 season at Severance Hall is sponsored by UBS. Headquartered in Zurich and Basel, Switzerland, UBS is a global firm providing services to private, corporate and institutional clients. Its strategy is to focus on international wealth management and the Swiss banking business alongside its global expertise in investment banking and asset management. In Switzerland, UBS is the market leader in retail and commercial banking.
UBS is a significant supporter of orchestral music globally. In addition to its season sponsorship of The Cleveland Orchestra, the firm currently sponsors several other outstanding symphony orchestras, such as the Boston Symphony Orchestra and The Philadelphia Orchestra. These partnerships reflect UBS’s dedication to supporting the communities where it operates, as well as a philosophy of working collaboratively with its clients to deliver the customized solutions that help them pursue their goals.
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Ticket Prices: (Add $5 for Saturday): Orchestra: $71, $47; Dress Circle: $93, $55; Balcony: $71, $55, $31.
Ticket Services: The Severance Hall Ticket Office is located in the Smith Lobby. The entrance and 15-minute Ticket Service parking are along East Boulevard. Single tickets for all concerts in the 2009-10 season are now on sale. Severance Hall Ticket Office Hours: M-F 9-6; Sat. 10-6; Closed Sundays and major holidays, except for those days with performances, when the Ticket Office opens three hours prior to the performance start time.
To charge tickets by telephone on American Express, Discover Card, MasterCard, and Visa, call Cleveland Orchestra Ticket Services at (216) 231-1111 (Cleveland) or 800-686-1141 during the regular ticket office hours listed above.
Free Concert Previews: Concert Previews will be given prior to the February 4, 6, and 7 concerts, beginning one hour before concert time, in Reinberger Chamber Hall. The Previews, titled “One Language, Three Dialects,” will be given by Michael Strasser, professor of music at Baldwin-Wallace College. Concert Previews are designed to enrich the concert-going experience by providing historical background and critical insight into the music performed at each concert. This series is funded by a generous endowment gift from Dorothy Humel Hovorka.
Parking: For evening subscription concerts at Severance Hall, parking can be purchased for $10 per vehicle, when space permits, in the Campus Center Garage (the underground garage located directly behind Severance Hall). Pre-paid parking for the Campus Center Garage can be purchased in advance through the Ticket Office at the cost of $14 per concert (this includes City of Cleveland parking tax and handling fee). The pre-paid parking ensures patrons a parking space, but availability of these pre-paid parking passes is limited.
For further information, or to order pre-paid parking, patrons should call the Cleveland Orchestra Ticket Office during regular office hours at (216) 231-1111 or 800-686-1141. Pre-paid parking passes are also available online for ticket-holders.
Calendar Listings
Thursday, February 4, at 8:00 p.m.
Saturday, February 6, at 8:00 p.m.
Sunday, February 7, at 3:00 p.m.
Severance Hall
THE CLEVELAND ORCHESTRA
PIERRE BOULEZ, conductor
PIERRE-LAURENT AIMARD, piano
MESSIAEN – L’Ascension
RAVEL – Piano Concerto in G major
RAVEL – Piano Concerto for the Left Hand
DEBUSSY – “Ibéria” from Images
Ticket Prices: $31-$98 – Call (216) 231-1111 or 800-686-1141, or order online.
Season Sponsor: UBS
Guest Artist Fund: The Sherwick Fund
Concert Preview, in Reinberger Chamber Hall beginning one hour before concert time: “One Language, Three Dialects” featuring Michael Strasser, professor of music at Baldwin-Wallace College
Media Contacts: Jennifer Schlosser, (216) 231-7518; Email; or
Ana Papakhian, Office: (216) 231-7476; Cell phone: (216) 370-2595; Email
