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CHOICE Review

If readers use this biography of Boulez in conjunction with Lev Koblyakov's analysis of the music, Pierre Boulez: A World of Harmony (CH, Jul'91), they may be able to come to terms with the music of one of this century's most challenging composers. The first half of Jameux's book consists of the composer's biography, the second half of what the author characterizes as 12 "analytical introductions" to representative works. These include the especially important Second Piano Sonata, Structures, Book I, Le Marteau sans maitre, and Rituel. Together they offer a solid overview of Boulez's music at least to 1984, the year of the original French edition of Jameux's study. If the volume provokes some misgivings, they stem from the necessary omission of work after 1984 and from what might be termed a near-obsessive fascination with the subject. Biographers must respect the objects of their studies, yet a degree of detachment and the willingness to discuss shortcomings are indispensable tools of the trade. In Jameux's view Boulez appears to be without flaw. Boulez has enjoyed a spectacular career as composer, conductor, polemicist, and lately as musical bureaucrat. His creative output is small but has been highly influential, especially in Europe. Its long-range significance is hard to estimate, but Jameux's worshipful book is a good place to begin one's calculations if one is careful to maintain perspective. -F. Goossen, University of Alabama