36th Annual Student Research Conference
Le Marteau sans Maître: A Look at Serialism Through the Lens of Pierre Boulez
Samantha N. Pratt
Dr. Marc Rice, Faculty Mentor
During the late 19th century and early 20th century, the world witnessed significant changes in the appearance of global politics and arts. After centuries dominated by tonal music, composers began to struggle against the ordered system of chords and intervals known as "functional tonality." Many of these composers revolted and decided to find new music styles to break tradition. This was marked by the appearance of a new compositional technique — serialism. Among these was Pierre Boulez, a French composer who became a dominant figure of post-war Western Classical music, and who, like others, found ways to stretch the limits of the tonal system to accommodate his ideas. This presentation will explore the serial compositional elements in Boulez’s work Le Marteau sans Maître, demonstrate why the work was especially successful, and explain how it still engenders a great deal of discourse, related to both its compositional processes and serialist aesthetics, today.
Keywords: Pierre Boulez, Le Marteau sans Maître, New Music, 20th Century, Serialism, Composition, Tonality, Music History
Topic(s):Music
Presentation Type: Oral Presentation
Session: 101-2
Location: SUB Alumni Room
Time: 8:45