The success of books and festivals such as ‘The Rest is Noise’ have proved that 20th-century music exerts a fascination every bit as powerful as 20th-century art or architecture. Musically there can be no better guide to our tumultuous age than composer, conductor and titanic musical intellect Pierre Boulez. 

For the occasion of his 90th birthday, DG have assembled a 44-CD set that charts the course of 20th century music, starting chronologically with Debussy and ending with works by Boulez himself.

Grammy-award winning Bartok and Stravinsky recordings stand out, along with modern classics by Varèse, concertos by Ligeti and the first complete recording of Berg’s Lulu. Other landmarks of the Second Viennese School include Schoenberg’s Moses und Aaron and the Webern recordings.

This great master of music – composer, conductor and writer – has been an exclusive artist with Deutsche Grammophon for over 20 years, and his recording legacy with the label is immense. We celebrate his birthday with a 44-CD box set of his DG 20th century music recordings  – an aspect of his work that lies at the heart of his achievement.

“The aim of music is not to express feelings but to express music. It is not a vessel into which the composer distills his soul drop by drop, but a labyrinth with no beginning and no end, full of new paths to discover, where mystery remains eternal.” – Pierre Boulez

Contents:
CD 1 BÉLA BARTÓK
- 4 Pieces for Orchestra op.12 (Sz 51)
- Concerto for Orchestra Sz 116
Chicago Symphony Orchestra

CD 2 BÉLA BARTÓK
- Dance Suite Sz 77
- Two Pictures op.10 Sz 46
- Hungarian Sketches Sz 97
- Divertimento for String Orchestra Sz 113
Chicago Symphony Orchestra

CD 3 BÉLA BARTÓK
- The Miraculous Mandarin op.19 Sz 73
- Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta Sz 106
Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus (Sz 73)

CD 4 BÉLA BARTÓK
- Cantata Profana Sz.94 – The Nine Splendid Stags
- The Wooden Prince, Sz.60 (Op.13)
John Aler (tenor), John Tomlinson (baritone)
Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus

CD 5 BÉLA BARTÓK
- Piano Concerto No.1
Krystian Zimerman (piano), Chicago Symphony Orchestra
- Piano Concerto No.2
Leif Ove Andsnes (piano), Berliner Philharmoniker
- Piano Concerto No.3
Hélène Grimaud (piano), London Symphony Orchestra

CD 6 BÉLA BARTÓK
- Concerto for 2 Pianos, Percussion and Orchestra Sz 115
Tamara Stefanovich (piano), Pierre-Laurent Aimard (piano), London Symphony Orchestra
- Violin Concerto No.1 Sz 36
Gidon Kremer (violin), Berliner Philharmoniker
- Viola Concerto Sz 120
Yuri Bashmet (viola), Berliner Philharmoniker

CD 7 BÉLA BARTÓK
- Violin Concerto No.2
- Rhapsodies Nos. 1 + 2
Gil Shaham (violin), Chicago Symphony Orchestra

CD 8 BÉLA BARTÓK
- Bluebeard's Castle Sz 48
Jessye Norman (Judith) • László Polgár (Bluebeard) • Nicholas Simon (Prologue)
Chicago Symphony Orchestra

CD 9 ALBAN BERG
- Chamber Concerto for Piano and Violin with 13 Wind Instruments
Daniel Barenboim (piano) • Pinchas Zukerman (violin), Ensemble Intercontemporain
- Lulu-Suite
Wiener Philharmoniker

CD 10–12 ALBAN BERG
- Lulu (Complete opera in 3 acts)
Teresa Stratas • Yvonne Minton • Hanna Schwarz • Franz Mazura • Kenneth Riegel • Toni Blankenheim • Robert Tear • Helmut Pampuch
Orchestre de l'Opéra de Paris

CD 13 HARRISON BIRTWISTLE
- Theseus Game
- Earth Dances
Roland Diry, Hermann Kretzschmar, Márta Fábián, Ensemble Modern / Martyn Brabbins
Ensemble Modern

CD 14 HARRISON BIRTWISTLE
- Secret Theatre
- Tragoedia
- Five Distances
- 3 Settings of Celan
Christine Whittlesey, Ensemble Intercontemporain

CD 15 PIERRE BOULEZ
- Notations for piano solo (Aimard)
- Structures pour deux pianos
- ...explosante-fixe...
Sophie Cherrier, Emmanuelle Ophele, Pierre Andre Valade , Ensemble Intercontemporain

CD 16 PIERRE BOULEZ
- Le Marteau sans maître
- Dérive 1
- Dérive 2
Hilary Summers (soprano), Ensemble Intercontemporain

CD 17 PIERRE BOULEZ
- Pli selon Pli
Christine Schäfer (soprano), Ensemble Intercontemporain

CD 18 PIERRE BOULEZ
- Répons
Ensemble Intercontemporain
- Dialogue de l’ombre double
Alain Damien (clarinet)

CD 19 PIERRE BOULEZ
- Sur Incises
- Messagesquisse
- Anthemes (2) pour violon et dispositif electronique
Jean-Guihen Queyras (cello), Ensemble Intercontemporain

CD 20 CLAUDE DEBUSSY
- Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune
- Images pour Orchestre
- Printemps
The Cleveland Orchestra

CD 21 CLAUDE DEBUSSY
- Trois Nocturnes
- Première Rhapsodie pour clarinette et orchestra
- Jeux
- La Mer
Franklin Cohen (clarinet), Cleveland Orchestra Chorus, Cleveland Orchestra

CD 22 GYÖRGI LIGETI
- Chamber Concerto for 13 instrumentalists
- Ramifications for string orchestra or 12 solo strings
- Aventures for 3 singers and 7 instrumentalists
- Nouvelles Aventures for 3 singers and 7 instrumentalists
Jane Manning (soprano), Mary Thomas (mezzo-soprano), William Pearson (bass), Ensemble Intercontemporain

CD 23 GYÖRGI LIGETI
- Piano Concerto
Pierre-Laurent Aimard (piano)
- Cello Concerto
Jean-Guihen Queyras (cello)
- Violin Concerto
Saschko Gawriloff (violin)
Ensemble InterContemporain

CD 24 OLIVIER MESSIAEN
- Poèmes pour Mi
Françoise Pollet (soprano)
- Le Réveil des oiseaux
Pierre-Laurent Aimard (piano)
- Sept Haïkaï
Joela Jones (piano)
The Cleveland Orchestra

CD 25 OLIVIER MESSIAEN
- Chronochromie
- La Ville d'en haut
- Et exspecto resurrectionem mortuorum
Cleveland Orchestra

CD 26 MAURICE RAVEL
- Ma Mère l'Oye
- Une Barque sur l'océan
- Alborada del Gracioso
- Rapsodie espagnole
- Boléro
Berliner Philharmoniker

CD 27 MAURICE RAVEL
- Daphnis et Chloé
- La Valse
Rundfunkchor Berlin, Berliner Philharmoniker

CD 28 MAURICE RAVEL
- Piano Concerto in G
- Valses nobles et sentimentales
- Piano Concerto for the Left Hand
Krystian Zimerman (piano), Cleveland Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra

CD 29 MAURICE RAVEL
- Shéhérazade
Anne Sofie von Otter (mezzo-soprano)
- Le Tombeau de Couperin
- Pavane
- Menuet antique

CLAUDE DEBUSSY
- Danses for Harp and Orchestra
- 5 Poèmes de Charles Baudelaire: 3. Le jet d'eau
- 3 Ballades de François Villon
Alison Hagley (soprano) • Lisa Wellbaum (harp)
Cleveland Orchestra

CD 30 ARNOLD SCHOENBERG
- Pelleas und Melisande op.5
Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester

- Concerto for Piano and Orchestra, op.42
Mitsuko Uchida (piano)
The Cleveland Orchestra

CD 31 ARNOLD SCHOENBERG
- Pierrot Lunaire op.21
- Herzgewächse op.20
- Ode to Napoleon Buonaparte op.41
Christine Schäfer (soprano), David Pittman-Jennings (narrator)
Ensemble InterContemporain

CD 32-33 ARNOLD SCHOENBERG
- Moses und Aron
Chris Merritt, David Pittman-Jennings, Gabriele Fontana, Yvonne Naef, John Graham-Hall
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra

CD 34 IGOR STRAVINSKY
- Le Chant du rossignol
- L'Histoire du Soldat: Suite
- Scherzo fantastique
- Le Roi des étoiles
The Cleveland Orchestra & Chorus

CD 35 IGOR STRAVINSKY
- The Firebird
- Fireworks
- 4 Etudes for Orchestra
Chicago Symphony Orchestra

CD 36 IGOR STRAVINSKY
- Pétrouchka (Original Version: 1911)
- Le Sacre du Printemps
The Cleveland Orchestra

CD 37 IGOR STRAVINSKY
- Symphony of Psalms
Rundfunkchor Berlin
- Symphony in 3 Movements
- Symphonies of Wind Instruments
Berliner Philharmoniker

HARRISON BIRTWISTLE
- The Triumph of Time
BBC Symphony Orchestra

CD 38 IGOR STRAVINSKY
- Ebony Concerto
- 3 Pieces for Clarinet Solo
- Concertino for String Quartet
- 8 Instrumental Miniatures for 15 players
- Concerto in E flat for Chamber Orchestra “Dumbarton Oaks”
- Elégie for Viola Solo
- Epitaphium
- Double Canon for String Quartet
Michel Arrignon (clarinet), Gérard Caussé (viola), Ensemble InterContemporain

CD 39 IGOR STRAVINSKY: Songs
- Pastorale
- 2 Poems by Paul Verlaine
- 2 Poems by Konstanin Bal’mont
- 3 Japanese Lyrics
- 3 Songs (Recollections of my Childhood)
- Pribaoutki (4 Songs)
- 4 Cat’s Cradle Songs
- 4 songs
- Tilim-bom
- Mavra: Song of Parasha 'Drooq moi mily'
- 3 Songs from William Shakespeare
- In memoriam Dylan Thomas
- Elegy for JFK
HUGO WOLF
2 Sacred Songs from Spanisches Liederbuch
- Herr, was trägt der Boden hier.. (Lord, what does the ground here bear?)
- Wunden trägst du.. (Thou art wounded)
Phyllis Bryn-Julson (soprano), Ann Murray (mezzo-soprano), Robert Tear (tenor), John Shirley-Quirk (baritone), Ensemble InterContemporain

CD 40 KAROL SZYMANOWSKI
- Violin Concerto No.1 op.35 (1916)
- Symphonie No.3 op.27 'Song of the night'
Christian Tetzlaff (violin), Steve Davislim (tenor), Singverein der Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde Wien, Wiener Philharmoniker

CD 41 EDGARD VARÈSE
- Amériques
- Arcana
- Déserts
- Ionisation
Chicago Symphony Orchestra

CD 42 ANTON WEBERN
- Passacaglia für Orchester op.1
- 5 Movements op.5 (Version for Orchestra)
- 6 Pieces for Orchestra op.6
- Im Sommerwind
JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH
- Musical Offering, BWV 1079: Fuga (Ricercata) (trans. Anton Webern)
FRANZ SCHUBERT
- 6 German Dances D820
Berliner Philharmoniker

CD 43 ANTON WEBERN
- Symphonie op.21
- Cantatas Nos 1 & 2 (op.29 & op.30)
- 3 Orchestral Songs
- Das Augenlicht op.26
- Variations op.30
- 5 Pieces for Orchestra
Christiane Oelze (soprano), Gerald Finley (bass), BBC Singers, Berliner Philharmoniker

CD 44 ANTON WEBERN
- Piano Quintet (1907)
- Entflieht auf leichten Kähnen op.2
- 2 Lieder op.8
- 5 Pieces for Orchestra op.10
- 4 Lieder op.13
- 6 Lieder op.14
- 5 Sacred Songs op.15
- 5 Canons op.16
- 3 Traditional Rhymes op.17
- 3 Lieder op.18
- 2 Lieder op.19
- Quartet op.22
- Concerto op.24
Françoise Pollet (soprano), Christiane Oelze (soprano), Pierre-Laurent Aimard (piano), BBC Singers, Ensemble InterContemporain