Pierre Boulez: An appreciation of a great composer who became a towering figurehead for new music

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Despite his quasi-revolutionary nature, his works remained rooted in certain distinctive qualities of French music of the 20th century: his precision and perfectionism, phenomenally imaginative use of instrumental timbres and an elusive variety of remote yet sensual sonic beauty marked him as heir to Debussy and Ravel. As chief conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra in the early 1970s he initiated concerts at London's Roundhouse that sought to create an informal, communicative and accessible atmosphere for new music - a prophecy, almost, of a trend that took off just as he was reaching his final years. Boulez's laser-beam mind, his ability to analyse, assess and respond as if in one breath, meant that he could express powerful notions in the simplest, strongest way, which one could neither forget nor by-pass.