'It seems wrong to me systematically to equate expressiveness with dynamics: to play each crescendo as loudly as possible does not increase the expressive power of the music but literally clubs it senseless and annihilates it through overemphasis.'
I must come clean and say that I am a big fan of Boulez the conductor. I find his blend of precision and cool detachment pay huge dividends; to my mind his Mahler recording are amongst the best on record and live he can be even better. This short book records a series of conversations on various topics related to conducting. From the question of tempo in Wagner's Parsifal to Stravinsky's recordings, to the problems of conducting his own works Boulez covers a lot of ground in an interesting and concise way. I was surprised at Boulez's wide musically knowledge and interest, particularly in his discussions of Schumann and Mendelssohn, composers I would never associate with him. All-in-all a very interesting book and highly recommended to anyone with an interest in modern music and music making.
Faber & Faber, 150 pages
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