Pierre Boulez, born March 26th, 1925 in Montbrison, France, was a prolific and world-renowned composer and conductor. An avid defender of the avant-garde repertoire, he was a major figure of the contemporary musical world. He conducted the Cleveland Orchestra, the BBC symphony Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic. He is also the founder of the Institute for the Research and Coordination of Acoustics and Music, known as Ircam and the Cité de la Musique of Paris.
Boulez died at his home in Baden-Baden, Germany, on January 6th 2016.