Pierre Boulez’s landmark work Répons for large chamber orchestra, six percussion soloists, and live electronics was conceived at IRCAM in Paris and premiered in 1981 in Donaueschingen. The composer had hoped to hear it performed in Berlin’s new concert hall with its extraordinary elliptical shape. The title of the piece alludes to the spatial sound dramaturgy of “responses” between multiple instrument groups, and Boulez specifically urged architect Frank Gehry to champion the idea of a performance in Berlin. Almost two years after the composer’s death, the Boulez Ensemble and conductor François-Xavier Roth now fulfil his wish, for two nights transforming the hall into the acoustical space Boulez dreamed of.

The concert begins with a full performance of Répons. After the intermission, Maestro Roth will offer insights into the structure of the work in a short talk, which will be followed by a reprise of Répons.