Messiaen's Turangalila Symphony
Gillian Moore selects her favourite recording of Messiaen's Turangalîla Symphony.
Messiaen's Turangalîla Symphony with Gillian Moore
Olivier Messiaen's only symphony was written for an orchestra of enormous forces. The title comes from two Sanskrit words. "Lîla" means play in the sense of the divine action upon the cosmos. It also means love. "Turanga" is the time that runs, like a galloping horse and that flows, like sand in an hourglass; it's both movement and rhythm. The meaning of "Turangalîla" was best summed up by Messian himself as "a love song; a hymn to joy." He described the joy of Turangalîla as "superhuman, overflowing, blinding, unlimited".
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Building a Library: a guide to the best recordings of the greatest classical music.