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2 results

  • Chapter 6 - Messiaen and the USA

  • from Part I - Mondial Messiaen
  • Edited by Robert Sholl, Royal Academy of Music and University of West London
  • Book:
    Messiaen in Context
    Published online:
    09 November 2023
    Print publication:
    30 November 2023, pp 46-53

  • Summary

    This chapter examines Messiaen’s long involvement with the USA. It discusses commissions, his relationship with notable figures, his teaching there, and the genesis and performance of both the Turangalîla-Symphonie and Des canyons aux étoiles…, including Messiaen’s admiration for the mountains in Utah. It also explores Messiaen as a performer of his own music in America (he premiered the Méditations sur le mystère de la Sainte-Trinité), the commissioning and performance of the Livre du Saint-Sacrement, and the orchestral éclairs sur l’Au-delà….

Olivier Messiaen's Turangalîla-symphonie

Olivier Messiaen's Turangalîla-symphonie
  • Andrew Shenton
  • Published online:
    11 September 2023
    Print publication:
    05 October 2023
  • As one of only a few pieces not primarily inspired by Messiaen's Catholic faith, but by human love as described in the romance of Tristan and Isolde and elsewhere, the Turangalîla-symphonie is contextualized in Messiaen's oeuvre and as a genre piece. Using previously untranslated information from Messiaen's own description of the work in his Traité, close analysis of the music seeks to demystify some of the complex innovations he made to his musical language, especially in the areas of rhythm and orchestration. This Element pays special attention to the fragmentary and elusive program which is explained with reference to Messiaen's fascination with surrealism at this time. Information is included on the commission and composition of the piece, its premiere by the Boston Symphony Orchestra conducted by Leonard Bernstein, its revision by Messiaen in 1990, and its reception history in both live and recorded performances.