Pierre Boulez: Contract with Deutsche Grammophon extended

December 20th 2007, by Tobias |

Pierre Boulez has announced that he has extended his exclusive contract with German label “Deutsche Grammophon”. This means that many of the grand-scale projects which he has worked on with the record company will now come to a definite conclusion, barring any unforeseen events. Two of these projects have been especially close to the heart of Pierre Boulez: A cycle of Bartok as well as a recording of all Mahler symphonies. The latter will include a rendition of “Symphony No. 8”, one of the all-time most opulent and personel-heavy productions for orchestras. As the final instalment of the series, it is now being dubbed “the crown on ten years of work”. Of equal importance to Pierre Boulez was the addition of the Viola Concerto by Bella Bartók as well as the Violin Concert Number 1 to his discography in conjunction with an ensemble of stars: While the former features Yuri Bashmet, the Concert will be realised together with Gidon Kremer – and both of them will receive the powerful support of the Berlin Philharmonics. And then there is still an exciting DVD production in the pipeline.

Janacek’s “From the House of the Dead”, after all, will be an audiovisual extravaganza and a renewed musical handshake between Pierre Boulez and French director Patrice Chéreau. Between 1976 and 1980, Boulez and Chéreau already collaborated on a – now classic – Ring at Bayreuth. At the “Wiener Festwochen” in May of this year, their version of “House of the Dead” was given its premiere, featuring the Mahler Chamber Orchestra as well as the Arnold Schoenberg Choir. While the stage design by Patrice Chéreau was reduced to a functional and sinister minimalism, Boulez’ sound for the recording has been described as “glassy and shimmering”. Completing the projected output for 2008 will be Bartok’s Concert for Two Pianos, which Pierre Boulez realised with Pierre-Laurent Aimard und Tamara Stefanovich and the LSO.

Pierre Boulez and the “Deutsche Grammophon” have been working together for a staggering seventeen years now.

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