Turangalila Symphony / L'ascension
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OLIVER MESSIAEN
Turangalila Symphony / L'ascension
Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra / Antoni Wit
[ Naxos / 2 CD ]
Release Date: Wednesday 1 November 2000
This item is currently out of stock. It may take 6 or more weeks to obtain from when you place your order as this is a specialist product.
A major new recording of this monumental work
Olivier Messiaen was appointed organist of La Trinité in Paris at the age of 22, a post he was to hold for the next 40 years. Though his first major compositions came much later in his life, he became the most influential French composer in the second half of the 20th century. The Turangalila Symphony, one of the great orchestral showpieces, dates from 1948 and is a tone poem of joy and love. Divided into ten sections, it calls for a very large orchestra, including a role for solo piano and ondes martenot. The orchestral work preceding this was completed in 1933, and was a devoutly religious score. As the title would suggest, L'Ascension deals with Christ's ascension from mortal life, and has become better known in the composer's later arrangement for organ.
Reviews:
"The Turangalia Symphony, with its rich blend of exotic and surreal elements rooted in the Tristan myth, is Messian's best-known orchestral work. First broadcast on the BBC in 1951, it caused apoplexy among the corporation's governors, but is now part of the repertoire. The desire to use Turangalia as a showpiece has meant that performances often overlooked the need for the work to be fun and exude an irrepressible joy. The Polish forces on this new account have a strong pedigree in Messiaen's music. Antoni Wit was regarded very highly by the composer, and his recording with the same orchestra of Messiaen's last masterpiece, Eclaires sur l'au-dela... is profoundly moving. The opening of Turangalia is absolutely gripping, quieter moments are beautifully phrased and ebullient passages certainly lack no enthusiasm or joy."
- BBC Music Magazine (Christopher Dingle), October 2000
Editor's Choice
"A powerful reading by these superb Polish Musicians...A Turangalila with all the expressive power the score needs, and its equally well-played coupling provides an opportunity to enjoy less frequently heard Messiaen...Devotees of Naxos' ongoing forays into 20th century masterworks certainly shouldn't hesitate."
- Gramophone (Arnold Whittall), November, 2000
