2003 Europakonzert from Lisbon with Pierre Boulez and Maria João Pires

The Philharmoniker always choose very special locations for their musical anniversary celebrations, which they have held every year since 1991 to commemorate the day they were founded on 1 May 1882. In 2003 the choice fell on the 16th-century Mosteiro dos Jerónimos just outside Lisbon. The monastery, which attests to Portugal’s golden age as a naval power, has been a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1987.

On this occasion the conductor was Pierre Boulez, who has been a regular visitor to Berlin since his first appearance with the orchestra in 1961 and who is famed for the translucency of his interpretations, a quality especially beneficial to the opening piece on the programme, Ravel’s Le Tombeau de Couperin, allowing listeners to hear even the tiniest details in the instrumentation. The next work on the programme was Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 20, in which the soloist was Maria João Pires, who brought a Portuguese note to the concert. Although she has rarely shared a platform with Boulez, the two seemed to understand one another quite effortlessly. In the words of one critic, the result was “a living and entirely convincing interpretation of one of the most important works in the mainstream repertory”.

After the interval, the Philharmoniker were once again able to show what each of them is capable of in Bartók’s Concerto for Orchestra, meticulously conducted by Pierre Boulez: “Sometimes I hear when a musician wants to give something more, and so I let him do so. They are all great individuals and have their own ideas about the piece. I accept that. Otherwise I would be violating their individuality. And that isn’t good!” Conductor and orchestra thanked the audience for their enthusiastic applause with an encore, Debussy’s Fêtes, bringing this musical celebration to a wonderful conclusion.

Berliner Philharmoniker

Pierre Boulez

Maria João Pires