The 41st edition of the Printemps des Arts de Monte-Carlo

Bruno Mantovani, the artistic director of the festival, has shaped the 41st edition of the Monte-Carlo Spring Arts Festival around the central figure of Pierre Boulez, whose centenary will be celebrated in 2025.

The festival will take place over four weekends, from March 12 to April 6, with a symphonic prelude on March 2 (featuring works by Mahler and Wagner) and a choreographic postlude from April 23 to 27, with ballets by Balanchine, Ratmansky, and Goecke.

On March 26, 2025, the anniversary of his birth, the festival will feature the only concert dedicated to Boulez’s works, conducted by Bruno Mantovani. This edition will be a rare opportunity to explore the many facets of Boulez’s remarkable personality: “I wanted to create a portrait that goes beyond the obvious, capturing this singular individual through his tastes, influences, orchestral repertoire, relationships with admired artists, and even with those he despised.”

The audience will thus have the chance to rediscover the works Boulez conducted (Wagner, Bruckner, Bartók, Debussy, Stravinsky, Ravel, Mahler), the music of his mentors (Schönberg, Berg, Webern), friends (Berio, Ligeti, Stockhausen), and teacher (Messiaen), as well as the young composers he supported (Dalbavie, Eötvös, Grisey, Maresz, Hurel, Manoury, Mantovani). Additionally, the festival will feature a concert showcasing the works of his contemporaries (March 27).

Pierre Boulez was an extraordinary composer, and his scores revealed a free and innovative spirit, a genius who, while deeply rooted in the past, built the future of music. But his life also saw him take on an incredible variety of roles: he was a conductor with an unlimited repertoire, equally committed to conducting both grand Wagnerian operas and the works of emerging composers.

Boulez was also a writer, pedagogue, polemicist, founder, and director of institutions, and he played a significant role in bringing demanding music to a wider audience.

“Boulez was an excellent artist in all fields,” commented Paul Klee, better than any art historian. “He was inspired by encounters with the great creators of his time, such as Francis Bacon, whose works will illuminate this edition of the Spring Arts Festival, with the support of the Francis Bacon MB Art Foundation and its president, Majid Boustany.”