Gloria Cheng & Ralph van Raat

Resonant Encounters: Boulez, Feldman, Cage, and Beyond

Pianists Gloria Cheng and Ralph van Raat pay homage to the legacy of Pierre Boulez, the unparalleled French composer, conductor, and cultural visionary who transformed postwar contemporary music and left an indelible mark on the sound of the 20th century.

Cheng and van Raat take brief solo turns in two unpublished Boulez works that are exclusive to them: a selection from the early Trois Psalmodies, for which Ralph van Raat was granted sole permission by the Boulez heirs to perform and record; and Courtes Dérives à partir d’Éclat, a whimsical, open-form work that Boulez composed for Cheng as a wedding present.

Quietly cherished for decades as a private gift, Cheng began performing the piece after its appearance in Boulez’s official catalogue drew inquiries from performers and scholars. It is a rare instance of Mr. Boulez supplying a pièce d’occasion, of which Cheng has so far been the only performer.

Program includes works for solo and duo piano by Boulez, John Cage, Morton Feldman, Magnus Lindberg, Igor Stravinsky, and Frank Zappa.

“A meaningful combination of Boulez’s music with that of others…, brilliantly performed…casts new light on the Frenchman’s music.” Opusklassiek (Amsterdam)