“Ensemble intercontemporain is the Stradivarius of modern music”

— Polar Music Prize citation

Ensemble Intercontemporain
Matthias Pintscher, conductor
Modern Mavericks
Presented in partnership with the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University

Schoenberg: Five Pieces for Orchestra, Op. 16 (arranged for chamber ensemble by Schoenberg)
Conversation with Matthias Pintscher and DACAMERA’s Artistic Director Sarah Rothenberg
Boulez: Dérive 2

The winners of the prestigious Polar Music Prize for 2022 make their first-ever Texas appearance! An exclusive DACAMERA engagement prior to the group’s appearance at Carnegie Hall.

The legendary Ensemble intercontemporain was founded in Paris, France in 1976 by composer and director Pierre Boulez, and is dedicated to the performance of music of the 20^th and 21^st century. Under the direction of world-renowned conductor Matthias Pintscher, the Ensemble presents Schoenberg’s early twentieth century masterpiece, which the composer wrote “seeks to express all that swells in us subconsciously like a dream” and its co-founder Pierre Boulez’s kaleidoscopic, propulsive Dérive 2.

“a seductive, hypnotic quality to the music” — The Guardian on Boulez’s Dérive 2

“Ensemble intercontemporain is the Stradivarius of modern music and has inspired the greatest composers of our time to create new masterpieces since the 1970s…the ensemble has helped to advance the entire world of music.” – Polar Music Prize citation

Concert Sponsor:

This event is part of the French Cultures Festival coordinated by the Cultural Service of the French Embassy in Houston.

For this tour, EIC receives support from the Jazz & New Music program of the Villa Albertine and FACE Foundation, in partnership with the Cultural Services of the French Embassy in the United States, with the support of the Ministry of Culture, the French Institute, the City of Paris, the SACEM ; as well as from the Centre National de la Musique (CNM).