...explosante fixe...

…exploding-fixed… The work was initially conceived in 1971 as a one-page aleatoric work, in memoriam Igor Stravinsky who died that year. Pierre Boulez composed different versions of the work the last version being a work for solo Midi flute, ensemble and electronics first performed in 1993. The title is taken from a text by André Breton, L’amour fou:

La beauté convulsive sera érotique-voilée, explosante-fixe, magique-circonstancielle, ou ne sera pas" (Convulsive beauty will be erotic-veiled, exploding-fixed, magical-circumstantial, or it will not be at all).

It is an exuberant work with strong interactions between the soloist and groups of instruments.