He wanted to blow up the opera houses and destroy the Mona Lisa. Sometimes it’s necessary to push hard in order to find equilibrium.

Pierre Boulez might not be to everyone’s taste, either as a composer or a conductor, but if he did one thing well it was to force everyone to think – about music, about progress and about the reasons we value the things we hold sacred.

It had originally been my intention to show up for my WPRB shift tomorrow and enjoy a lazy morning of English music, since I really didn’t have any other plans. As soon as I drafted my Facebook announcement, however, I was blindsided by the news that Boulez died yesterday at the age of 90.

Now, I can’t claim to be passionate about Boulez, but he is too important a figure in the world of classical music simply to ignore. Besides, I do like his recordings of Bartók and Debussy, he made a fine set of Schoenberg’s choral music, and the last time I listened to “Le marteau sans maître,” I thought, you know, this isn’t so bad.

Boulez proclaimed, “A civilization that conserves is one that will decay!” Just the same, I think he’d be glad to join me tomorrow morning from 6 to 11 ET, on WPRB 103.3 FM and at wprb.com, as I share Boulez records from my collection. It certainly beats the alternative, says Classic Ross Amico.