LSO and Boulez
Théâtre du Châtelet, Paris: October 21 and 22 2004 October 21: Pierre Boulez, Livre pour cordes ; Gustav Mahler, Symphony N°7 October 22: Pierre Boulez, Dérive 2 ; Igor Stravinsky, Symphonies d’instruments à vent, Le Sacre du printemps . What can I say ? Boulez isn’t a composer I listen to at home, and though I don’t find half an hour of his music “difficult,” the rhythmic complexity and rapid pace make it hard for me to decipher and therefore hard to criticise. The Livre pour cordes left no impression on me; Dérive 2 had more impact and certainly the eleven LSO players involved put a great deal of skill and effort into making a success of its waves of sound and driving energy. Boulez Why is it sometimes suggested the LSO is now below world-class? Maybe my judgment has been clouded by long years in France, where orchestras sound as ad hoc as their members’ tenure is guaranteed, whether they play well or badly. The LSO played like a well-oiled English machine from the days when Bri...