David Robertson: belief

Transcript context

…With what Boulez piece should a skeptic start? Oh, I would say start gently with a piece like Mémoriale, where there the sound world — it’s for solo flute, it’s for a small string ensemble and two French horns — the sound world is delightful and at the same time, it is a piece that has a very strong emotional tenor. It really is a memorial for a beloved member from the Ensemble Intercontemporain, who was quite young when he died, who was working very closely with Pierre on developing the MIDI flute. In other words, a flute that a player could play like a normal flute, and it would be able to interface with a computer. He passed away very suddenly. Pierre took one of the fragments that he had written around the memorial of Stravinsky and wrote this piece originally for flute solo, and in trying to work on the piece for its premiere at a memorial concert for Lawrence Beauregard the flutist, he and Sophie Cherrier felt that something was missing. So overnight, he wrote this accompaniment part for the strings and the two horns, and it is an absolute gem. At five minutes, it won’t take too much out of your time, and you won’t feel as though you have spent your time incorrectly. I have some general questions about conducting. How is it you make your players feel better?…

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