Olivier Messiaen: Turangalīla-Symphonie

Olivier Messiaen (Composer), Yan Pascal Tortelier (Conductor), BBC Philharmonic Orchestra (Orchestra), Howard Shelley (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Howard Shelley
• Orchestra: BBC Philharmonic Orchestra
• Conductor: Yan Pascal Tortelier
• Composer: Olivier Messiaen
• Audio CD (September 15, 1998)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Chandos
• ASIN: B00000AFTQ
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #648,012 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Olivier Messiaen falls squarely into that camp of avant- gardists that have used decidedly outrageous music to express profound, often ecumenical spiritual values. And the Turangalîla Symphony is easily one of Messiaen's wildest, most sonically ecumenical works. This lengthy symphony's title comes from Sanskrit, joining the words for "time" and "play" very aptly, since the piece runs freely across time in both its density and stop-start jumpiness and in its mixture of post-modern technology and traditional symphonic practices. Messiaen juxtaposes like mad here, putting the electronic ondes martenot up front with the piano while at various times forested trombone parts hash it out with crashing percussion and tonally tilted strings. Having scripted a mini-ensemble made up on pitched-percussion instruments within the orchestra, Messiaen sought to import a sound similar to a Balinese gamelan orchestra. The bright juts of bass and the cascading segments punctuated by the ondes martenot ensure, though, that this is far more than a percussion piece. First performed in 1949 as the Cold War was setting in, the Turangalîla is a fast-paced, intercontinental ride that foreshadowed Messiaen's even wilder explorations, as well as the inclusion of electronic instruments and non-Western chordal arrangements and instrumental arrays in large symphonies. --Andrew Bartlett

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Jazzy but lacking in ecstasy., June 29, 1999

By 

Dr. M. Scott (Manchester, UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Olivier Messiaen: Turangalīla-Symphonie (Audio CD)

All the correct ingredients - a great interpreter of French music, a great ensemble and one of the masterpieces of this century - but strangely lacking in the right emotions to successfully convey Messiaen's outrageous visions of joy. To give credit, YPT takes the work at a cracking pace, especially the magnificent finale, but he loses the sense of overwhelming pathos, particularly on the final blazing F# major chord which is not held for anywhere near as long as we have come to expect from rival versions(Myung-Whun Chung & Riccardo Chailly). Hence, a good recording (Chandos have sumptuous sound as always) but not the best recording.

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Tortelier: Strong on vitality, September 16, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Olivier Messiaen: Turangalīla-Symphonie (Audio CD)

Tortelier's interpretation of the Turangalīla-symphonie shows a strong awareness of the frantic rhythmic vitality of the work, along with a true sense of sentimentality and pure passion in the slow and quiet 6th movement "Jardin du sommeil d'amour". The only weakness is that there are moments during the rhythmic dances of the "Turangalīla" movements where a very slight lack of rhythmic precision mars the performance very slightly. Shelley's piano playing is bright and polished, if a little forward, and Hartmann-Claverie's ondes martenot is well balanced. All in all, Tortelier's performance makes for pleasureable listening, though it does not quite reach the heights of Rattle or Myung-Whun Chung's hallmark recordings of the work.

2 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars turangalīla. the divine game of creation, September 16, 1998

By 

"guittins" (Campeche., Campeche. Mexico) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Olivier Messiaen: Turangalīla-Symphonie (Audio CD)

Oliver Messiaen's Turangalīla simphony is a very special experience to the listener, along 10 movments (aprox. 70 min, of music) we experiment a great range of emotions and sounds. The autor's election of the title is of sanscrit and means "the game of creation". Is a record necessary to understand the evolution of classical music of the second half of this century. Is a work for piano and ondes martenot, and both instruments are played by skillfull soloists.