RT tells me my lute 'should still be usable enough for Boulez'. Sadly, he does not appear to approve of Boulez, and equally sadly the great man has until now written for the lute, though he has produced some splendid music for the guitar in 'Le marteau' and there is a part for mandolin in 'Pli selon pli'. When I was music critic for the Frankfurter allgemeine Zeitung many years ago I saw at rehearsal of the work under Boulez himself. A famous player (Hugo ? The surname escapes me, but everyone knows him) had fits attempting to play the mandolin part, cursing and swearing the while. Boulez was charm itself, said in that inimical way the French have of speaking English they would sort out the problem in the interval, and when they returned the mandolin part went perfectly, which produced a beatific and happy smile from the composer. Cheers
TB --
