André Boucourechliev

André Boucourechliev (28 July 1925 – 13 November 1997) was a French composer of Bulgarian origin.

Born in Sofia, Boucourechliev studied piano at the Conservatory there. Subsequently, he studied in Paris at the École Normale de Musique de Paris, where he later taught piano. His first attempts at composition date from 1954, when he was engaged in the famous contemporary music sessions at Darmstadt. He honed his compositional technique by seeking out Berio and Maderna in Milan. Following the success of his Piano Sonata (1959), which was performed at the Domaine musical, and works involving choice and chance, he spent a period in America, during which he met Cage, Merce Cunningham, and Rauschenberg. The summit of his exploration of choice and freedom on the part of the performer was reached in Archipels (1967–1971). Many of his later works have gone on to refine or extend these principles. Boucourechliev died in Paris in 1997 at the age of 72.

Honours Grand Prix Musical de la Ville de Paris, 1976 Grand Prix National de la Musique, 1984 Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur

Works

Work Opus No. Scoring Date Medium Publisher Duration Musique à trois Op. 1 flute (also piccolo), clarinet and harpsichord 1957 rev. 1958 Chamber music Unpublished 00:07:00 Texte I Op. 2 tape (2 tracks) 1958 Electroacoustic music Unpublished 00:06:20 Sonate Op. 3 piano 1959 Solo instrument Unpublished 00:10:00 Text II Op. 4 two tapes 1959 Electroacoustic music Unpublished 00:04:30 Grodek Op. 5 soprano, flute and three percussions 1963 Vocal music Universal 00:12:00 Musiques Nocturnes Op. 6 clarinet, harp and piano 1965 Chamber music Unpublished 00:10:00 Archipel 1 Op. 7 two pianos and two percussions (or two solo pianos) 1967 Chamber music Universal variable (approx. 11 mn) Archipel 2 Op. 8 string quartet 1968 String quartet Universal variable (approx. 20 mn) Archipel 3 Op. 9 piano and six percussions 1969 Percussion ensemble Alphonse Leduc variable (approx. 15 mn) Archipel 4 Op. 10 Piano 1970 Solo instrument Alphonse Leduc variable (approx. 10–25 mn) Anarchipel – Archipel 5E Op. 11 one or two percussions 1970 Solo instrument Alphonse Leduc variable (approx. 7–20 mn) Anarchipel – Archipel 5D Op. 11 Piano 1970 Solo instrument Alphonse Leduc variable (approx. 7–20 mn) Anarchipel – Archipel 5C Op. 11 Organ 1970 Solo instrument Alphonse Leduc variable (approx. 7–20 mn) Anarchipel – Archipel 5B Op. 11 Harpsichord 1970 Solo instrument Alphonse Leduc variable (approx. 7–20 mn) Anarchipel – Archipel 5A Op. 11 one or two amplified harps 1970 Solo instrument Alphonse Leduc variable (approx. 7–20 mn) Anarchipel Op. 11 ensemble of six instruments : amplified harp, amplified harpsichord, organ, piano, 2 percussion 1970 Instrumental ensemble Alphonse Leduc variable (approx. 7–20 mn) Ombres (Hommage à Beethoven) Op. 12 twelve (or twenty-four) strings 1970 Orchestra Alphonse Leduc 00:19:00 Tombeau Op. 13 clarinet in A and percussion or piano 1971 Chamber music Alphonse Leduc 00:04:00 Faces Op. 14 two groupes of orchestra (with two conductors) 1972 Orchestra Alphonse Leduc variable (approx. 20 mn) Amers Op. 15 nineteen instruments 1973 Instrumental ensemble Alphonse Leduc variable (approx. 15–20 mn) Thrène Op. 16 tape 1974 Electroacoustic music 00:31:00 Concerto Op. 17 piano and orchestra 1975 Orchestra Salabert variable (approx. 21 mn) Six Etudes d’après Piranèse Op. 18 Piano 1975 Solo instrument Salabert variable (approx. 15 mn) Le nom d’Œdipe Op. 19 6 soloists (Jocaste 1 soprano, Jocaste 2 speaker, Œdipe 1 baryton, Œdipe 2 s[...] 1978 Opera Unpublished 02:00:00 Trois extraits du "Nom d’Œdipe" Op. 20 soprano, piano, 2 gongs (played by the pianist) and tape 1978 Vocal music Unpublished 00:14:00 Orion I Op. 21 Organ 1979 Solo instrument Salabert variable (approx. 17 mn) Ulysse Op. 22 flute and percussion 1980 Chamber music Transatlantiques variable (approx. 12 mn) Ulysse Op. 22? 2 flutes 1980? Chamber music unpublished variable (approx. 12 mn) Orion II Op. 23 five brasses, piano and two percussions 1982 Chamber music Salabert variable (approx. 20 mn) Orion III Op. 24 Piano 1982 Solo instrument Salabert 00:10:00 Nocturnes Op. 25 clarinet (in A and Bb) and piano 1984 Chamber music Salabert 00:12:00 Lit de Neige Op. 26 soprano and nineteen instruments 1984 Vocal music Salabert 00:20:00 Le Miroir, Sept répliques pour un opéra possible Op. 27 mezzo-soprano and orchestra 1987 Vocal music Salabert 00:20:00 La chevelure de Bérénice Op. 28 instrumental ensemble (20 players) 1987 Instrumental ensemble Salabert variable (approx. 20 mn) Miroir 2 (Five pieces for string quartet) Op. 29 string quartet 1989 String quartet Salabert 00:18:00 Quatuor III Op. 30 string quartet 1994 String quartet Salabert variable Trois fragments de Michel-Ange Op. 31 soprano, flute (and flute in G) and piano 1995 Vocal music Salabert 00:07:30 Les Possédés 1971 Incidental music Unpublished 00:07:00 Akara tape 1967 Incidental music Unpublished 00:20:00 Le repos du septième jour 3 flutes (also fl. in G and picc.) and 2 percussions 1965 Incidental music Unpublished 00:27:00 Tic Tac For tape (1 track) 1959 Incidental music 00:08:40 Ricercare Organ Early works Unpublished Etude 1 tape (2 tracks) 1956 Early works Unpublished 00:03:00 Escholier de merencolie For solo voice 1956 Early works Unpublished Trois pièces Piano 1955 Early works Unpublished approx. 4 mn 30 Sonate Violin 1953 Early works Unpublished approx. 7 mn Quatre pièces For violin and cello 1952 Early works Unpublished Passacaglia Piano 1952 Early works Unpublished approx. 5 mn Signes For flute, piano and two percussions 1961 Works withdrawn from the catalogue Unpublished approx. 11 mn Les enfants de la nuit For tape 1992 Incidental music

Writings Schumann, 1956 (French), 1959 (English), 2010 (Bulgarian) Chopin: eine Bildbiographie, 1962 (German), 1963 (English) Beethoven, 1963 (French) Stravinsky, 1982 (French), 1987 (English) Essai sur Beethoven, 1991 Le langage musical, 1993 Dire la musique, 1995 Regards sur Chopin, 1996 (French), 2010 (Bulgarian)

Debussy. La révolution subtile, 1998 (French),