Maurice Ravel
Introduction and Allegro for Harp, Flute, Clarinet, and String Quartet

Luciano Berio
Folk Songs for Mezzo-Soprano and Seven Instruments

INTERMISSION

Pierre Boulez
Le Marteau sans maître for Mezzo-Soprano and Six Instruments

In the mid-1950s, Pierre Boulez, who would have celebrated his 100th birthday in March 2025, smashed the dogmas of Serialism with Le Marteau sans maître – the “Hammer without a Master” – and simultaneously established himself as a leading voice of the musical avant-garde. To open the Boulez anniversary season, Thomas Guggeis and the Boulez Ensemble perform the enigmatic work, which is based on surrealist poems by René Char. As a counterpoint, Luciano Berio’s Folk Songs, written in 1964, present an entirely different yet equally fascinating approach to blending words and music.