For some time now, the Wallonia-Brussels Community has been sorely lacking a publication in which its most active composers could find a forum for reflection and exchange. So the Forum des Compositeurs, in partnership with the Conseil de la Musique de la Communauté française (and its President Robert Wangermée, whom we thank), decided to publish a first volume bringing together various contributions devoted to the most recent musical creation.
This first issue of Carnets du Forum opens with a poem in the form of a friendly epistle from Michel Butor to his long-time accomplice Henri Pousseur. This is followed by interviews with Philippe Boesmans, Pierre Bartholomée and Peter Eötvös. These “conversations” about music were initiated by Forum composers. They therefore reflect a certain complicity between the contributors. A special feature is also devoted to Hungarian composer Peter Eötvös. In particular, it reflects our desire not to limit our reflections to the French-speaking world of Belgium. The other contributions in this volume testify to our concern to diversify our fields of investigation: analysis, theoretical reflection, history, pedagogy, interpretation... Finally, the book closes with an interview with Laurent Langlois, the new director of the Ars Musica Festival, whom we asked to tell us about his intentions for the future of this most important of festivals.