A Thought

There was an incident in my life around 1970 that has always troubled me. I was present at a rehersal of the New York Philharmonic. Pierre Boulez was conducting.

In the middle of the rehersal, Pierre Boulez stops the orchestra and tells them that they are playing out-of tune. I think he directed his critism at the brass section. It was a heart stopping moment. To me this seemed audacious. Here's an individual telling a hundred professional musicians that they are playing out of tune? Was this a personal challenge between seasoned musicians and a know-it-all conductor or a war between France and America?

The moment passed. The orchestra appeared to acquiese and to play in tune because the rehersal went on without further comment.

As I now see it, wind instrument musicians face intonational challenges presented by their instruments. All wind instruments have natural acoustics which favor a natural intonation scheme.

Sony has recently released a ten album compilation of Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring. One of the versions is by Boulez. Is his version more in tune? Does his version sound better?

Who was right?

Rick Tagawa
Los Angeles

June 8, 2013