Album: Steven Osborne, Cynthia Millar, Juanjo Mena, Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra Messiaen: (Turangalîla-Symphonie Hyperion)

 

Andy Gill
Friday 27 July 2012 11:20 BST
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Messiaen's vast Turangalîla-Symphonie was an uncompromising declaration of postwar aesthetic vitality, vibrant of colour and shocking of aspect.

With its turbulent maelstrom of hammering piano, stormy strings, shrieking staccato brass, splashy cymbals and whining ondes Martenot, it's easy to see why it was compared to The Rite of Spring. It's a mountainous task for any pianist, but Steven Osborne copes faultlessly here, negotiating the bustle of the more intense movements with precision and smooth power, while the more reflective passages such as the "Jardin du Sommeil d'amour" are treated with fluid grace and understanding.

Download: Introduction; Chant d'amour 2; Jardin du Sommeil d'amour

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