Documentary, b/w, sound, approx. 60 min.

The voice of Pierre Boulez is at the heart of Notations. In the spring of 2005, on the occasion of his 80th birthday, the composer, conductor, and theorist spoke with journalist Claude Glayman at IRCAM in Paris. Produced by Frederic Luzy and filmed by Michel Follin, it became a unique contemporary document: four hours of dialogue about a life with and for music.
In a dense and rhythmically structured montage, Marion Kalter has now transformed this material into an independent film.

Boulez recalls formative encounters, artistic alliances, and intellectual companions: Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Luciano Berio, Nadia Boulanger, Elliott Carter, Franco Donatoni, Pascal Dusapin, Daniel Harding, György Ligeti, Philippe Manoury, Olivier Messiaen, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Luigi Nono, Maurizio Pollini, Paul Sacher, Georg Solti, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Leonard Bernstein, and others. The names speak for themselves, but Notations goes beyond that. The composer’s voice meets images that have accompanied him for decades: photographs by Marion Kalter.

Since 1984, when Kalter first photographed Boulez during rehearsals at IRCAM for Le Monde de la Musique magazine, she has documented his work over nearly three decades — in Paris, Salzburg, New York, and Touraine. Her photographs are more than documents: they reflect closeness and distance, precise observation, and a deep understanding of the other. This visual depth also permeates the film, giving a second dimension to the composer’s memory.

The filmic narration is complemented by musical excerpts: Douze notations pour piano (1945), recorded by the composer himself for ORF in 1992, provide a tonal foundation. In the introduction and conclusion, Marion Kalter shares her perspective as an artist, witness, and close observer of one of the most important musicians of the 20th century. Her personal reflections on many years of collaboration with Boulez are combined with a tribute to listening, seeing, and remembering.

Notations is not a classical portrait, but a dense web of memories. A filmic document about Pierre Boulez, but also about the art of approaching — through words, music, and images.