Thursday, November 12, 2015 – 7:00 pm (Pickford Theater)
FILM: Pierre Boulez & the Lucerne Festival Academy: Inheriting the Future of Music
Pierre Boulez and the Lucerne Festival Academy: Inheriting the Future of Music (2009)
A film by Günter Atteln and Angelika Stiehler
Featuring music by Stravinsky, Boulez, Adamek and Stockhausen
Concert excerpts from Lucerne Summer Festival 2009
Debussy: Jeux; Boulez: Notations I-IV, VII; Boulez: Répons
Documenting the contributions of Pierre Boulez to the rising musicians of the Lucerne Festival Academy, this film will be supplemented by recorded performances from the Lucerne Festival of music by Debussy and Boulez. The series of Boulez films offers great insight into the workings of this master composer, conductor, educator and all-around musician. FREE, tickets required.
Part of FRANCE À LA BIBLIOTHÈQUE
*****
Friday, November 13, 2015 – 7:30 pm (Coolidge Auditorium)
ENSEMBLE INTERCONTEMPORAIN
Matthias Pintscher, music director
Dimitri Vassilakis, piano | Éric-Maria Couturier, cello
Hidéki Nagano, piano | Diégo Tosi, violin | Hae-Sun Kang, violin
Since its foundation by Pierre Boulez in 1976, Ensemble Intercontemporain has been one of the world’s greatest ensembles dedicated to new music and 20th-century repertoire. A group of 31 core soloists make up the Ensemble’s roster, and under the direction of composer/conductor Matthias Pintscher they will perform a special collection of masterworks by Varèse, Berg and Ligeti. As a bonus, two recently composed pieces of chamber music will also be featured: the world premiere of a new work for violin and piano by composer Hannah Lash, commissioned by the Library, and a Library co-commission for solo cello by Pintscher, presented for the first time in the United States as part of the triptych Profiles of Light. FREE, tickets required.
PROGRAM
LASH | Two Movements for violin and piano (world premiere)
*Commissioned by the McKim Fund in the Library of Congress
VARÈSE | Octandre
PINTSCHER | Profiles of Light (U.S. premiere)
—Now I for piano
—Now II for cello (Commissioned by the Moritzburg Festival and the Dina Koston and Roger Shapiro Fund in the Library of Congress)
—Uriel for cello and piano
LIGETI Chamber Concerto for 13 instrumentalists
BERG Chamber Concerto for piano, violin and 13 winds
Advance tickets for this event are currently sold out. RUSH passes will be distributed for space available admission beginning at 5:30pm.
Part of FRANCE À LA BIBLIOTHÈQUE
Pre-Concert Conversation (6:00pm, Whittall Pavilion)
Matthias Pintscher and Hervé Boutry, Ensemble Intercontemporain
FREE, no tickets required
*****
Saturday, November 14, 2015 – 10:00 am (Coolidge Auditorium)
ENSEMBLE INTERCONTEMPORAIN WORKSHOP
Jens McManama, horn
Emmanuelle Ophèle, flute
Paul Riveaux, bassoon
Members of Ensemble Intercontemporain lead a workshop on performing and interpreting contemporary music for musicians and music lovers. Free, tickets required.
Part of FRANCE À LA BIBLIOTHÈQUE
GENERAL ADMISSION
Seating is general admission and patrons with a ticket will be seated on a first-come, first-served basis. Five minutes before the event starts any unclaimed seats will be available for patrons without a ticket. Patrons are encouraged to arrive half an hour before the event, as extra tickets may be available due to returns.
*****
Saturday, November 14, 2015 – 2:00 pm (Pickford Theater)
FILM: Pierre Boulez: Éclat; Sur Incises (Double Feature)
Pierre Boulez: Éclat; Sur Incises (Double Feature)
Éclat (1994) Directed by Frank Scheffer
Sur Incises (2000) Directed by Andy Sommer
Written by Hélène Jarry and Andy Sommer
These two films focus on two significant works by Pierre Boulez. 1965’s Éclat is a fascinating work for 15 players that balances spontaneous decision-making with compositional control; the film explores a coaching and performance of the work by the Nieuw Ensemble, conducted by Ed Spanjaard. Sur Incises is a monumental work for three pianos, three harps and three percussionists; in “A Lesson with Pierre Boulez” the composer introduces the work, followed by a performance by members of Ensemble Intercontemporain, conducted by Boulez. FREE tickets required.
Advance tickets for this event are currently sold out. RUSH passes will be distributed for space available admission beginning at 6:30pm.
Part of FRANCE À LA BIBLIOTHÈQUE
*****
Monday, November 16, 2015 – 7:00 pm (Montpelier Room)
LECTURE: DEBUSSY’S FASCINATION WITH THE EXOTIC–FROM CHINA TO SPAIN
Marie Rolf, PhD
Senior Associate Dean of Graduate Studies and Professor of Music Theory
Eastman School of Music
Debussy scholar Marie Rolf will speak about some of the Library’s materials related to the French master, with a particular focus on two lesser-known songs: “Rondel chinois” and “Seguidille,” the latter of which was recently published for the first time in an edition edited by Rolf. Free, tickets required.
Part of FRANCE À LA BIBLIOTHÈQUE
GENERAL ADMISSION
Seating is general admission and patrons with a ticket will be seated on a first-come, first-served basis. Five minutes before the event starts any unclaimed seats will be available for patrons without a ticket. Patrons are encouraged to arrive half an hour before the event, as extra tickets may be available due to returns.