Pierre Boulez: The Complete Music for Solo Piano
Marc Ponthus, piano
BRIDGE 9456A/B

Pierre Boulez's solo keyboard output remains heavily weighted in favor of the most radical, intransigent phase of his development—his twenties—although it is no coincidence that these were also his most productive, self-assured years as a composer. As Charles Rosen, one of Boulez’s important early interpreters, observed, the piano “is a traditional outlet for experimentation: it allows an immediate control over the musical idea,” one that “often indicates at once the nature of the revolution and suggests its limits.” Those limits would be reached in earnest with the unfinished Third Sonata, one of the essential termini of the postwar avant-garde project in its most “heroic” phase, and in many respects the decisive venture of Boulez’s creative life.  On these discs, Marc Ponthus plays all of Boulez's solo piano music, including the expanded 2001 version of Incises.

Reviews:

"Boulez was always concerned that the resonating strings were insufficiently audible in performances of Contellation/Miroir, especially in larger halls, so, when Marc Ponthus recorded Boulez’s complete piano music for Bridge Records last year—a project of which Boulez was well aware—he recorded Constellation/Miroir using two adjacent grand pianos at Boulez’s suggestion in order to increase the volume of the resonance. Ponthus was actually able to control the pedaling on both pianos, while, presumably, only playing one of them (!)." - David Gable

“There are many good accounts out there of the sonatas, but this one of Marc Ponthus is easily one of the best, crisp, energetic, and enlivening in all respects. The sound is crystalline and realistic, making for a wonderful presentation of this important and often beautiful music.” - Audiophile Audition

“It’s the contents of the disc that count, and Ponthus is a superb guide to some of the most challenging music of the mid 20th century.” - MusicWeb International

“This release is a must-have for this music.” - American Record Guide

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Pierre Boulez, composer

Deuxième Sonate
Douze Notations
Incises
Première Sonate
Une page d'éphéméride
Troisième Sonate

Marc Ponthus, piano

BRIDGE 9456A/B (two discs for the price of one)