Pierre Boulez Remembered

Photo by Dennis Polkow

The Music Institute of Chicago asked our faculty if they had any memories to share of their experiences working with Maestro Pierre Boulez. Barbara Martin, MIC Voice Department Chair, is a graduate of The Juilliard School and has performed with orchestras and opera houses around the word.  She has numerous recordings including world premieres by George Crumb, Ralph Shapey and Augusta Read Thomas.  She has offered master classes and performances throughout the United State in contemporary classical repertoire.

By Barbara Martin

Music Institute of Chicago Voice Department Chair

I had the good fortune to work with Maestro Boulez when I was living in New York.  I think that it was with a new music group called Speculuum Musicae in a Meet the Composer Series at the Whitney Museum. 

The piece that I performed with him was his own masterwork, Le Marteau Sans Maȋtre, which was known to be one of the most influential pieces of its time.  In those days, I had the reputation of being able to sing anything written by anyone, so I accepted the gig without looking at the score first.  When I saw it & realized I only had three weeks before meeting the Maestro, I freaked out!  And got to work.

The piece was known to be a minefield -- with complex rhythmic & melodic patterns, incredibly difficult ensembles, etc. that demanded the highest concentration and focus.  The musicians I was working with (who were the best in the business) said with a mix of admiration and fear, that "his ears have ears!"  He would hear every pitch, rhythm and nuance in a way that was almost "superhuman."  The Maestro knew exactly what he wanted to hear and wrote it down with great clarity.  And it was my job to make sure that he got it!

Fortunately, Maestro Boulez had forwarded all of the beating patterns in Marteau so that we all would be aware of his intentions.  (I still have my score with his own markings!) 

Richard Fitz, great percussionist & conductor in his own right, prepared the piece with me.  Everyone was putting in countless hours of our own individual preparation & rehearsal time together.  And then came The Day - the day of our first rehearsal with Maestro Boulez.  We were all collectively shaking in our boots!  He was polite, mild, congenial-and then came the downbeat.  One by one, we went through each movement, with The Maestro making a suggestion here and there.  We came to my first movement (based on movement seven in Schoenberg's Pierrot Lunaire for flute & mezzo-soprano alone).  He conducted the movement with us and when it was over he smiled, nodded his approval - and I began to breathe again!  In the entire rehearsal, the only thing he corrected was my pronunciation of one French word (which I remember to this day)!  The Maestro was pleased with everyone. The performance went extremely well, although it was almost anticlimactic after the terrors of the first rehearsal.  And the anticipation of meeting his expectations.  Which we (I!) did! 

Maestro Pierre Boulez brought out the best in me, as he did with so many musicians, by demanding  that I go beyond my own limitations and enter his own extraordinary sonic world.  He stretched borders, both in his audiences and in those performers who were fortunate enough to work with him.  He awoke us all to musical realms that were far beyond our consciousness, yet we trusted him and willingly followed.  The world has lost a unique champion of art, culture and humanity-we will miss you Maestro Boulez!