Ensemble Intercontemporain
One of the first groups in the world dedicated specifically to contemporary music, the Ensemble Intercontemporain in Paris remains among the most influential. The Ensemble was led by avant-garde composer and conductor Pierre Boulez for much of his life.
Boulez founded the Ensemble Intercontemporain in Paris in 1976. At the time, although the London Sinfonietta already pursued a focus on 20th century music, the idea of a performance organization devoted to new music may have been unique. The group had, and still has, 31 players, a set of forces derived from those needed to perform key chamber works by Stravinsky, Webern, Schoenberg, and Boulez himself. The Ensemble Intercontemporain developed in tandem with IRCAM (Institut de Recherche et de Coordination Acoustique/Musique), a research and performance venue located at the Georges Pompidou Center in Paris, and in its early years, it often performed at IRCAM. Boulez held the position of president of the Ensemble Intercontemporain; he appointed a series of music directors, beginning with Péter Eötvös in 1979, but during Boulez's lifetime, the Ensemble was always closely identified with him. Thanks to his celebrity, the Ensemble Intercontemporain soon began a high-flying international recording career; in 1982, the group released an album of works by Berg and Stravinsky on the Deutsche Grammophon label. Although its programming and recordings are primarily oriented toward new works, the Ensemble also performs classic 20th century music. Later music directors have included David Robertson (1992-2000), Susanna Mälkki (2006-2013, the group's first female director), and Pierre Bleuse, who is set to become music director in 2023.
In 1995, the Ensemble Intercontemporain moved to the Cité de la Musique complex in Paris and then, in 2013, to the new and nearby Philharmonie de Paris. With a repertory of some 2,000 contemporary works to draw from (many commissioned by the Ensemble itself), the group gives about 30 concerts annually in Paris and also tours frequently; it has visited North and South America, Russia, East Asia, and Australia as well as many European capitals. It also performs in smaller subgroups drawn from the full ensemble, often billed as Soloists of the Ensemble InterContemporain. The Ensemble Intercontemporain has issued some 30 albums, on such labels as Kairos, Wergo, and Alpha, in addition to having an ongoing relationship with Deutsche Grammophon. In 2022, Ensemble Intercontemporain moved to Nonesuch for the album Reich/Richter.
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Stravinsky: Songs
Ensemble Intercontemporain, Pierre Boulez
Klassiek - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 jan. 1982
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Berio: Sequenzas
Klassiek - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 jan. 1995
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Pierre Boulez: Pli selon Pli
Christine Schäfer, Ensemble Intercontemporain, Pierre Boulez
Klassiek - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 jan. 2002
The Qobuz Essential Discography16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schoenberg: Pierrot Lunaire
Christine Schäfer, Ensemble Intercontemporain, Pierre Boulez
Klassiek - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 jan. 1978
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ligeti: Études pour piano & Trio pour cor, violon et piano - Donatoni: Tema & Cadeau
Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Pierre Boulez, Ensemble Intercontemporain
Klassiek - Released by Warner Classics on 14 feb. 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Birtwistle: Secret Theatre; Tragoedia; Five Distances; 3 Settings of Celan
Ensemble Intercontemporain, Pierre Boulez
Klassiek - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 jan. 1995
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Boulez: ... Explosante-fixe... / Notations / Structures II
Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Ensemble Intercontemporain, Pierre Boulez
Klassiek - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 jan. 1995
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Luca Francesconi: Etymo
Barbara Hannigan, Pablo Márquez, Benny Sluchin, IRCAM, Ensemble Intercontemporain, Susanna Mälkki
Klassiek - Released by KAIROS on 1 jan. 2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Boulez: Le Marteau sans maitre; Derive 1 & 2
Hilary Summers, Ensemble Intercontemporain, Pierre Boulez
Klassiek - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 jan. 1954
The Qobuz Essential Discography16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ensemble Intercontemporain - Great Recordings
Klassiek - Released by UME - Global Clearing House on 5 sep. 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bruno Mantovani: Le Sette Chiese
IRCAM, Ensemble Intercontemporain, Susanne Mälkki, Susanna Mälkki
Klassiek - Released by KAIROS on 1 jul. 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Lucia Ronchetti: Action Music Pieces
Ensemble Intercontemporain, Matthias Pintscher, Christian Dierstein, Michele Marco Rossi, Orchestra Della Toscana, Luca Pfaff
Klassiek - Released by KAIROS on 1 sep. 2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Pierre Jodlowski: Drones
Ensemble Intercontemporain, Susanna Mälkki
Klassiek - Released by KAIROS on 1 jan. 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Philippe Manoury: Fragments pour un Portrait
Christophe Desjardins, Ensemble Intercontemporain, Susanna Mälkki, Diemo Schwarz
Klassiek - Released by KAIROS on 1 jan. 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Michael Jarrell: Cassandre
Astrid Bas, Ensemble Intercontemporain, Susanna Mälkki
Klassiek - Released by KAIROS on 1 jan. 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Matthias Pintscher: Violin & Cello Concertos
Frank Peter Zimmermann, Christophe Desjardins, Truls Mørk, Ensemble Intercontemporain, NDR Sinfonieorchester, Matthias Pintscher
Klassiek - Released by KAIROS on 1 jul. 2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Hèctor Parra: Hypermusic Prologue
Charlotte Ellett, James Bobby, Clement Power, IRCAM - Centre Pompidou, Ensemble Intercontemporain
Klassiek - Released by KAIROS on 11 mei 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Alberto Posadas: Glossopoeia
Klassiek - Released by KAIROS on 1 jun. 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Newborn
Roberto Negro, Ensemble Intercontemporain
Jazz - Released by Parco della Musica Records on 3 mei 2024
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Boulez conducts Boulez - ...explosante-fixe...; Notations I-XII; Structures II
Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Ensemble Intercontemporain, Pierre Boulez
Klassiek - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 jan. 1995
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Cohen: Transmutations, Jeux, Il sogno di Dedalo
Klassiek - Released by Universal Music Division Decca Records France on 1 jan. 1999
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo