Boulez Music and Philosophy

While acknowledging that Pierre Boulez is not a philosopher and that he is wary of the potential misuse of philosophy with regard to music this study investigates a series of philosophically charged terms and concepts which he uses in discussion of his music. Campbell examines significant encounters which link Boulez to the work of a number of important philosophers and thinkers including Adorno Lvi-Strauss Eco and Deleuze. Relating Boulez''s music and ideas to broader currents of thought the book illuminates a number of affinities linking music and philosophy and also literature and visual art. These connections facilitate enhanced understanding of post-war modernist music and Boulez''s distinctive approach to composition. Drawing on a wide range of previously unpublished documentary sources and providing musical analysis of a number of key scores the book traces the changing musical philosophical and intellectual currents which inform Boulez''s work.