Incises (Boulez)

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Incises (1994/2001) and Sur Incises (1996/1998) are two related works of the French composer Pierre Boulez.

Incises is Boulez's first work for solo piano since his third piano sonata of 1955. Originally written in 1994, it was revised in 2001. It plays with contrasts of gestures and textures, for instance, repeated pitches or chords in an even tempo interrupted by violent melodic arcs, or sparse chordal interjections without discernable rhythm over long held sonorities.

Sur Incises followed a few years later as a two movement work based on the material of Incises. This work is for 3 pianos, 3 harps, and 3 mallet percussion instruments. Here the sounds of the piano are broken into component parts played by the harps and percussion, and stretched across space as well by having the 3 groups spread apart in the performance space. (This kind of reworking of an earlier piece is common to Boulez, the first instance being Structures.)

Moment I
Moment II

[edit] References

Boulez, Pierre. Incises pour piano (version 2001). Universal Edition UE 31 966, Vienna, 2001. ISBN 3-7024-1186-0
Fink, Wolfgang. Boulez: Sur Incises, included booklet. Deutsche Grammophon 463 475-2, Hamburg, 2000.