This quote of Pierre Boulez, the maestro composer, conductor, educator and erstwhile 'bad boy of classical music' is as relevant today as it was in 1996. The interviewer was asking a question in relation to the historical performance movement, but his answer applied equally to contemporary music as well. It serves as a credo to his choices as a conductor as to the works he records and selects for performance. It also serves as an insight, a mantra for interpreters of his works as a composer and their duty to the score.
This exhibition Boulez selon Boulez at 90 was physically displayed on 20 March 2015 in Chancellor's Hall in the Senate House, University of London for the Pierre Boulez at 90 Study Day sponsored by the Institute of Musical Research and the Institute of Modern Languages Research within the School of Advanced Study. This virtual exhibition replicates and augments the materials which were on display. It focuses on some examples of objects which are the focus of that interpretation by the composer himself 90 years young: Boulez according to Boulez.
The exhibition is divided into three sections. The first covers Boulez as an interpreter of his and other composers' works. The second looks at his work editing the critical score edition series of Debussy. The last section looks at his masterpiece Pli selon pli.