boulez started his university studies by studying mathematics. he then gave that up and went to the paris conservatoire to study music. one of his teachers was olivier messiaen. he wrote music in an atonal style, similar to the serial music of anton webern. gradually his music became completely serial, so that everything about the music: the pitches of the notes, the length of the notes, the louds and softs, the accents were all organized in a mathematical way. this is called “total serialism” or “integral serialism”. this kind of music is very strange to listen to.