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Line 1: '''Polyphonie X''' is a composition by [[Pierre Boulez]] for eighteen instruments divided into seven groups, written in 1950-51. It is in three movements. It is one of the first works of Boulez's total [[serialism\|serial]] period. It was composed shortly after "Structure 1a", the opening of the piano duo ''[[Structures (Boulez)\|Structures I]]'' ({{Harvnb \|Heyworth\|1973\|p=14}}; {{Harvnb \|Jameux\|1991\|p=52}}) ~~and~~, the movement the composer would later describe as an experiment with "an expressive nadir" {{Harv \|Jameux\|1991\|p=51}}. The première of ''Polyphonie X'' during the 1951 [[Donaueschingen Festival]] caused a scandal, with one half of the audience shouting and imitating animal noises, while the other half responded with applause and bravos {{Harv \|Jameux\|1991\|pp=47–48}}. The title is often misinterpreted as having algebraic significance; in fact, the X is intended as a purely graphical symbol, implying the crossing of musical parameters which takes place in the score {{Harv \|Jameux\|1991\|p=47}}.

Polyphonie X: Difference between revisions