Boulez 100

In 2025, the Ensemble Intercontemporain celebrates the centenary of the birth of Pierre Boulez, its founder. It will be a year of exceptional concerts and events in France, Europe and up to Asia. Looking forward to seeing you at one of these festive events !

2025 Year Boulez is supported by the Minister of Culture in collaboration with the Philharmonie de Paris

Editorial

For the Ensemble intercontemporain, Pierre Boulez was much more than an immense composer, a conductor with an incomparable ear and an outstanding teacher. He was truly a ‘member of the family’ who, for decades and right up to his last days, walked alongside the Ensemble, creating together a unique relationship. This is undoubtedly why we have the honour of opening the centenary festivities in the great hall that bears his name at the Philharmonie de Paris on January 6^th. We are doing so in a spirit of friendship, with an “EIC & Friends” in the company of two former soloists who knew Boulez well: Pierre-Laurent Aimard, who is reuniting with Sophie Cherrier, thirty years after their landmark recording of the Sonatine pour flûte et piano, and Jean-Guihen Queyras, who will be performing the dizzying solo cello of Messagesquisse – a way of bringing the whole intercontemporary family together to blow out these hundred candles!
The Pierre Boulez we want to present this year – in Paris and on tour, in France and abroad – is not simply a story of great, ultra-famous masterpieces, but also of a man on the move. In other words, a Pierre Boulez who was constantly evolving, who knew how to challenge himself in order to move forward and who, above all, knew how to share music in all its forms, with a rare generosity and an unparalleled sense of pedagogy. So we’ll be playing works that are rarely heard in concert halls, such as his Polyphonie X, but we’ll also be going back to the sources of his musical inspiration, and extending his approach to supporting young musicians and particularly young composers. In short, we will show him as he was: a complete musician, and a whole man.

Pierre Bleuse

Upcoming events

Past events

Soloists’ memories

Read the solists’ memories

Pictures

Pierre Boulez and the EIC, Tokyo, may 23rd 1995. Performance of REPONS.
Pierre Boulez and the EIC and Christiane Schaeffer , Pli selon Pli, Paris Cité de la Musique, january 19th 2001.
Répétition de "sur Incises", Chicago Symphony Hall, 1999.
Pierre Boulez and Alain Damiens , rehearsal of Dialogue de l'Ombre Double, recording for DGG, Cité de la Musique Paris 1996.
Pierre Boulez and the EIC , premiere of Explosante fixe , CGCP, Paris , january 1991.
Pierre Boulez and EIC's violonist Hae Sun Khung at a rehearsal of ANTHEMES electronic version. october 10th 1997.Paris Ircam
"Répons" à la Carrière Boulbon, 1988 - DR
Pierre Boulez and EIC in a rehearsal at the CSH, nov 21th 1999. "sur incises"
Carnegie Hall NYC, NOV 11 1993.
Cité de la musique, Paris, 1997 Philippe Gontier
Pierre Boulez with the score of Cumming der Richter , Paris march 2d 1998.
Pierre Boulez and Eic with Hillary Summers for the recording of le Marteau sans maître, DGG, IRCAM
"Répons" à Carnegie Hall, 2003 - DR
Pierre Boulez , EIC, recording session for DG, IRCAM 2004.