He was one of the dominant figures of post-war contemporary classical music. He began his professional career in the late s as music director of the Renaud-Barrault theatre company in Paris. He was a leading figure in avant-garde music , playing an important role in the development of integral serialism in the s, controlled chance music in the s and the electronic transformation of instrumental music in real time from the s onwards. His uncompromising commitment to modernism and the trenchant, polemical tone in which he expressed his views on music led some to criticise him as a dogmatist.
Boulez was also one of the most prominent conductors of his generation. He made frequent appearances with many other orchestras, including the Vienna Philharmonic and the Berlin Philharmonic. His work in the opera house included the production of Wagner 's Ring cycle for the centenary of the Bayreuth Festival , and the world premiere of the three-act version of Berg 's opera Lulu. His recorded legacy is extensive.
He also founded several musical institutions. The family prospered, moving in from the apartment above a pharmacy, where Boulez was born, to a comfortable detached house, where he spent most of his childhood. From the age of seven Boulez went to school at the Institut Victor de Laprade, a Catholic seminary where the thirteen-hour school day was filled with study and prayer. By the age of eighteen he had repudiated Catholicism; [ 4 ] later in life he described himself as an agnostic.
As a child, Boulez took piano lessons, played chamber music with local amateurs and sang in the school choir. His father hoped this would lead to a career in engineering.
Impressed by his ability, she persuaded his father to allow him to apply to the Conservatoire de Lyon. He was rejected but was determined to pursue a career in music.
