Since the end of World War II, nothing of importance seemed to escape Pierre Boulez: a seminal modern composer, a revered conductor, and an admired and feared intellectual, he was also the founder of several prestigious musical institutions.

An extraordinary personality, open to the world, Boulez questioned all fields of thought and maintained privileged relationships with the greatest writers, painters, directors, architects, philosophers, and scientists of his time.

In this book, his fellow traveler Laurent Bayle analyzes why the vision and struggles of one of the twentieth century's greatest geniuses continue to shape our present and nourish the future of creation.