Happy Birthday, Pierre Boulez!

Pierre Boulez is 90 years old today. The roaring lion of modernism, who once advised the destruction of all opera houses, has reduced his conducting and composing work in recent years. Celebrate his work in both areas with some streaming audio:

• Matthias Pintscher leads the Ensemble Intercontemporain and the Orchestre du Conservatoire de Paris, with soprano Marisol Montalvo, in Boulez's Pli selon pli (Portrait de Mallarmé), paired with Edgard Varèse's Amériques, recorded at the Philharmonie de Paris. [France Musique]


• In a concert recorded in 2005 at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, Boulez leads the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France in music by Ravel (Ma Mère l'Oye), Debussy (Nocturnes), and Stravinsky (Firebird). [France Musique]


• From the Salzburg Festival in 2003, Pierre Boulez conducts Mahler's fourth symphony, with soprano Miah Persson, and Haydn's "Salomon" symphony, recorded in 1996 at the Wiener Musikverein. [ORF]


• The BBC Symphony Orchestra, under Thierry Fischer at the Barbican Hall, play Boulez's Notations and Pli selon pli with soprano Yeree Suh. [BBC3]

You can also have a look back at our articles on Pierre Boulez, his conducting, and his music.