Pierre Boulez in Rehearsal

Pierre Boulez is a seminal figure in 20th century music--composer, conductor, teacher and experimenter, passionate in his advocacy of modern music. Since the 1940s he has been at the center of the French musical avant-garde.

For this "In Rehearsal" program, Boulez is filmed working with the Vienna Philharmonic on Alban Berg's "Three Pieces for Orchestra, Op. 6," and his own composition "Notations I-IV." With one of the world's top orchestras under his baton, Boulez runs through each piece and then fine-tunes the interpretation. He also gives insights into the demanding role of the conductor, who must employ great precision to achieve a perfect musical balance.