logo
episode-header-image
Oct 2023
2 m

Boulez and Jarre

American Public Media
About this episode

Synopsis


Today’s date in 1946 marks an important moment in Parisian theatrical history with the debut performance of a legendary acting company created by husband-and-wife actors Jean-Louis Barrault and Madeleine Renaud. Their opening production was Shakespeare’s Hamlet in a French translation by André Gide, with incidental music by Swiss composer Arthur Honegger. To play Honegger’s score, Barrault hired two young musicians at the start of their careers.


The first, 21, was to play the eerie electronic sounds Honegger scored for the Ondes Martinon, evoking the elder Hamlet’s ghost. That young musician was a composition student named Pierre Boulez, who would remain associated with Barrault’s company for a decade before becoming a famous conductor and composer of avant-garde scores of his own like Le Marteau Sans Maître.


The second musician Barrault hired was a 22-year old percussionist, who brought Hamlet to a dramatic close with timpani crescendos evoking Fortinbras’ final line in the play, “Go, bid the soldiers shoot.” That young musician, Maurice Jarre, would also become a famous composer, taking quite a different career path than Boulez. Jarre devoted himself to film scoring, composing several famous ones, such as Dr. Zhivago for British film director David Lean.


Music Played in Today's Program


Pierre Boulez (1925 - 2016) – Le Marteau Sans Maître (Orchestre Du Domaine Musical; Pierre Boulez, cond.) PCA 101


Maurice Jarre (1924 - 2009) – Lara’s Theme, from Dr. Zhivago (Royal Philharmonic Orchestra; Maurice Jarre, cond.) Sony 42307

Up next
Jul 4
Wagner's American Centennial commission
SynopsisOn today’s date in 1876, America was celebrating its Centennial, and the place to be was in Philadelphia, where a Centennial Exhibition was in progress. This was the first World’s Fair to be held in the United States. It drew 9 million visitors–this at a time when the ent ... Show More
2 m
Jul 1
Britten's 'Cantata Academica'
SynopsisOne way composers help make ends meet is to accept commissions for occasional pieces — works written for some special occasion, a private or public celebration or anniversary of some event, large or small. Sometimes these works go on to have a life of their own apart from ... Show More
2 m
Jun 8
Tomaso Albinoni
SynopsisFor some composers, what made them popular in their own day is not always what makes them popular today. Take, for example, Italian Baroque composer Tomaso Albinoni, who was born in Venice on today’s date in 1671.Albinoni was the son of a wealthy paper merchant, so he was ... Show More
2 m
Recommended Episodes
Jun 2022
Bruch's Violin Concerto
A Violin Concerto in G minor, Opus 26, became the best-known work of the German composer Max Bruch. Originally written in 1866 it went through many revisions before finally being completed in 1867. It was performed extensively but having sold both the publishing and the manuscrip ... Show More
27m 48s
Feb 2012
Rachmaninov, 2nd Piano Concerto
Rachmaninov's 2nd Piano Concerto - famously featured in David Lean's film "Brief Encounter" - is one of the world's most popular pieces of classical music. Some of its fans describe the way in which it has touched and shaped their lives. Featuring a pianist from Taiwan whose memo ... Show More
27m 33s
Apr 2014
Adagio in G minor
Albinoni's Adagio in G Minor, is one of the most popular and moving pieces of music.But, as academic and composer Andrew Gant explains, it wasn't written by Albinoni and is now attributed to 20th century Italian composer, Giazotto.Award-winning veteran BBC foreign correspondent, ... Show More
27m 31s
Mar 2010
Mendelssohn Violin Concerto
Series exploring famous pieces of music and their emotional appeal.When Mendelssohn wrote his Violin Concerto in 1844 he could hardly have imagined how famous and well loved it would become. In this programme, people tell how it has played an important part in their lives. Violin ... Show More
27m 57s
Oct 2022
Gramophone Classical Music Awards 2022
The Gramophone Classical Music Awards 2022 were unveiled last night. Editor-in-Chief James Jolly, Editor Martin Cullingford and Reviews Editor Tim Parry explore and celebrate all the winning artists and albums, complete with musical excerpts.  
49m 49s
May 2006
The Power of Music
This year's lecturer is Daniel Barenboim, who has become known as one of the most versatile pianists of his generation. His skill as a conductor and a musician has led him to world recognition and the appointment as Chief Conductor for Life by the Staatskapelle Berlin. He has als ... Show More
42m 9s
Apr 2022
Leif Ove Andsnes Speaks the Language of Music
Norwegian pianist and conductor Leif Ove Andsnes has been called “one of the most gifted musicians of his generation” by The Wall Street Journal. He has won worldwide acclaim, eleven Grammys nominations, and six Gramophone Awards. In 2012, Andnses partnered with the Mahler Chambe ... Show More
41m 43s
Sep 2009
Allegri's Miserere
Allegri wrote the chord sequence for his Miserere in the 1630s for use in the Sistine Chapel during Holy Week. It then went through the hands of a 12-year-old Mozart, Mendelssohn and Liszt until it finally reached England in the early 20th century and got fixed into the version w ... Show More
27m 28s
Mar 2011
Schubert's Winterreise
Winterreise was written the year before Franz Schubert's death aged just 31, these 24 songs based on poems by Wilhelm Müller describe a journey that takes us ever deeper into the frozen landscape of the soul. Singers Thomas Hampson, Mark Padmore, Alice Coote and David Pisaro desc ... Show More
27m 37s
Mar 2024
Mozart
In this special live episode, with music by the BBC Concert Orchestra and pianist Ben Dawson, Greg Jenner is joined by Dr Hannah Templeton and comedian David O’Doherty in eighteenth-century Europe to learn all about Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Mozart is perhaps the most famous compo ... Show More
1h 11m