Boulez and the piano

The uncompromising innovator Pierre Boulez is heard in Structures for two pianos: steely music with the raw energy of a young rebel. Scherzo, an unpublished work that Boulez wrote when he was just 19, introduced by Ralph van Raat in 2023, is also full of energy. Courtes dérives à partir d’éclat is totally different. A mysterious play of colours without a strict structure, in which it is all about pure tonal beauty, just like in Morton Feldman’s enigmatically floating Two Pianos.

Ralph van Raat is a renowned expert on Boulez. In 2023, he performed a recital at the Muziekgebouw entirely devoted to the composer, featuring several unpublished works that Van Raat found in archives. Boulez composed Courtes dérives à partir d’éclat as a wedding gift for Grammy Award winner Gloria Cheng, as a token of their special bond.