Olivier Messiaen - Turangalîla-Symphonie · Quatuor pour la fin du temps (2005)

The theme of love, and especially ordinary human love without some divine dimension except insofar as it is set against a background of eternity, is particularly felt deeply in Messiaen's music. Otherwise there is nothing grim about Turangalila, which is a huge upbeat masterpiece like Mahler's 8th, and one that can be mentioned in the same breath so far as I am concerned even though the title might be completely Sanskrit (how's that for one-upmanship?) and means something like `play of time'. In his more recent eminence as chief conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic, Rattle has received high praise, and rightly so, for his recording of Messiaen's Eclairs sur l'Au-dela. However, it was through his work with the City of Birmingham Symphony that Rattle first came to international notice for sheer and simple genius, and this performance will go a long way to prove why. In this recording, it's hard not to see that Rattle, along with Peter Donohoe who happens to be a completely exemplary and yet greatly underrated piano virtuoso, has Messiaen's style down to perfection. The piano part is no easy feat and the composer himself made references to the work as a `piano concerto', which I think is a slight exaggeration. What it really is is a symphony with piano obbligato, a description first coined for the Brahms' grim masterpiece in D minor, which comes to mind shortly after the start with some memorable martellato trills from the soloist.

Tracklist

Disc 1
1 I. Introduction
2 II. Chant D'amour I
3 III. Turangalila I
4 IV. Chant D'amour II
5 V. Joie Du Sang Des Etoiles
6 VI. Jardin Du Sommeil D'amour
7 VII. Turangalila II
8 VIII. Developpement De I'amour

Disc 2
1 IX. Turangalila III
2 X. Final
3 I. Liturgie De Cristal
4 II. Vocalise, Pour I'Ange Qui Annonce La Fin Du Temps
5 III. Abime Des Oiseaux
6 IV. Intermede
7 V. Louange A I'Eternite De Jesus
8 VI. Danse De La Fureur, Pour Les Sept Trompettes
9 VII. Fouillis D'arcs-En-Ciel, Pour I'Ange Qui Annonce La Fin Du Temps
10 VIII. Louange A I'Immortalite De Jesus
11 Le Merle Noir

Turangalîla-Symphonie
Peter Donohoe, Piano
Tristan Murail, Ondes Martenot
City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
Simon Rattle, conductor

Quatuor pour la fin du temps
Saschko Gawriloff, Violin
Hans Deinzer, Clarinet
Siegfried Palm, Cello
Aloys Kontarsky, Piano

Running Time: 2:10:24

EMI Classics 865252