The Z is not silent. And neither was the man whose name it ended. As a young man, he was in the front ranks of young European composers at the forefront of a revolution in music. And as a young man, he had nothing but enmity for the old men, and even if they weren't old. At various times, he was dismissive of Schoenberg, brutal about Stravinsky, Copland, Shostakovich, etc. He brooked no nonsense from his own contemporaries. A mentor he wasn't. The word "one-time" often went before the word "friend." (On the other hand, about his personal life, he was silent to the end.)

Boulez wielded power (never a baton) on the international stage, and, for the most part, successfully. As he aged, he mellowed. He admired more of his contemporaries. While still championing the modern, he conducted the masters of early centuries. While the decision to replace Bernstein with Boulez was not wholly a good one, he explored unconventional repertoire, concert formats, and locations. Didn't go over well back then. Now most everything is tried to keep the audiences awake. Pierre Boulez was 90.

--Amelia