Pierre Boulez

Pierre Boulez, the world-renowned French conductor who was a major force in modern classical music, has died. He was 90.

Boulez, who once served as the principal conductor of the New York Philharmonic, died Tuesday at his home in Baden-Baden, Germany. The death was confirmed by Hamid Si Amer, a spokesman for the Paris Philharmonic. No cause of death was announced, however.

Boulez, who was born March 26, 1925, in Montbrison, France, in the Loire region, first studied mathematics, but he decided later to pursue a career in classical music. He studied classical music at the Paris Conservatory.

He also composed and taught classical music during his storied career.

During the 1970s, Boulez led the New York Philharmonic and the BBC Symphony Orchestra. He served concurrently as the musical adviser of the Cleveland Orchestra from 1970 to 1972, chief conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra from 1971 to 1975, and music director of the New York Philharmonic from 1971 to 1977.

At the time of his death, he was the conductor emeritus of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, after having served as its principal guest conductor.

Other orchestras that Boulez conducted in recent years include the Berlin and Vienna Philharmonic orchestras, the London Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestre de Paris, the Ensemble InterContemporain and the Mahler Chamber Orchestra.

He received more than two dozen Grammy awards during his long career.