Page 140 - Weiss, Jernej, ur./ed. 2024. Glasbena kritika – nekoč in danes ▪︎ Music Criticism – Yesterday and Today. Koper/Ljubljana: Založba Univerze na Primorskem in Festival Ljubljana. Studia musicologica Labacensia, 7
P. 140
glasbena kritika – nekoč in danes | music criticism – yesterday and today
out the appearance of Schiff’s study, the European position of Carter’s mu-
sic would have been a great deal more difficult.
Pierre Boulez
The position of Pierre Boulez was different for a number reasons. The most
obvious difference from Gerhard and Carter was that Boulez was a su-
premely gifted orchestral conductor, especially of difficult contemporary
music. Glock encouraged and cajoled him into undertaking the enormous-
ly important task of presenting the most important advanced music of the
time. Boulez did not conduct all the new works at the proms or the public
symphony concerts, because in addition Glock did have the services of tal-
ented English conductors like Norman Del Mar and John Carewe, and of
the then chief conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Rudolf Schwarz.
This was especially important for the works in the concerts that were not
to the taste of the principal Proms conductor in the 1960s, Sir Malcolm
Sargent.
The other important factor was that Boulez was a fastidious composer,
taking a long time to compose his works to his satisfaction as well as con-
stantly revising his music. Consequently, unlike Gerhard but like Carter,
he had relatively few acknowledged works to his name. The most famous of
his early works, Le marteau sans maître, provided Glock with a opportu-
nity to draw the public’s attention to the composer. It had had various per-
formances in England in the few years after the premiere in Baden-Baden.
It was, moreover, one key to Glock’s promotion of the composer’s reputa-
tion, in one of the most notorious examples of his programming. The first
in a series of Thursday Invitation Concerts initiated by Glock took place
in the BBC Studios in Maida Vale, North London on 7 January 1960 with
a performance of Boulez’s Le marteau sans maître played by the New Mu-
sic Ensemble directed by the brilliant young conductor John Carewe and
outrageously sandwiched between two late String Quintets of Mozart (in E
flat, K614 before Le marteau sans maître and in C, K515 after the interval),
played by the distinguished Amadeus String Quartet and Cecil Aronow-
itz.28 The delightful opening of the E flat Quintet set the tone for the fre-
netic motivic activity of the Boulez, while the beautiful melodic and mo-
tivic activity of the C major Quintet brought stark relief to the audience.
The shock resonated among the audience at the concert,29 who would never
28 Personal notes from the concert.
29 Personal recollection.
140
out the appearance of Schiff’s study, the European position of Carter’s mu-
sic would have been a great deal more difficult.
Pierre Boulez
The position of Pierre Boulez was different for a number reasons. The most
obvious difference from Gerhard and Carter was that Boulez was a su-
premely gifted orchestral conductor, especially of difficult contemporary
music. Glock encouraged and cajoled him into undertaking the enormous-
ly important task of presenting the most important advanced music of the
time. Boulez did not conduct all the new works at the proms or the public
symphony concerts, because in addition Glock did have the services of tal-
ented English conductors like Norman Del Mar and John Carewe, and of
the then chief conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Rudolf Schwarz.
This was especially important for the works in the concerts that were not
to the taste of the principal Proms conductor in the 1960s, Sir Malcolm
Sargent.
The other important factor was that Boulez was a fastidious composer,
taking a long time to compose his works to his satisfaction as well as con-
stantly revising his music. Consequently, unlike Gerhard but like Carter,
he had relatively few acknowledged works to his name. The most famous of
his early works, Le marteau sans maître, provided Glock with a opportu-
nity to draw the public’s attention to the composer. It had had various per-
formances in England in the few years after the premiere in Baden-Baden.
It was, moreover, one key to Glock’s promotion of the composer’s reputa-
tion, in one of the most notorious examples of his programming. The first
in a series of Thursday Invitation Concerts initiated by Glock took place
in the BBC Studios in Maida Vale, North London on 7 January 1960 with
a performance of Boulez’s Le marteau sans maître played by the New Mu-
sic Ensemble directed by the brilliant young conductor John Carewe and
outrageously sandwiched between two late String Quintets of Mozart (in E
flat, K614 before Le marteau sans maître and in C, K515 after the interval),
played by the distinguished Amadeus String Quartet and Cecil Aronow-
itz.28 The delightful opening of the E flat Quintet set the tone for the fre-
netic motivic activity of the Boulez, while the beautiful melodic and mo-
tivic activity of the C major Quintet brought stark relief to the audience.
The shock resonated among the audience at the concert,29 who would never
28 Personal notes from the concert.
29 Personal recollection.
140
