Turangalîla-Symphonie: Difference between revisions
links |
|||
Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
The '''''Turangalîla-Symphonie''''' is a large-scale piece of [[orchestra]]l music by [[Olivier Messiaen]]. It was written from 1946 to 1948, on a commission by [[Serge Koussevitzky]] for the [[Boston Symphony Orchestra]]. The premiere was given by that orchestra on [[December 2]], [[1949]], conducted by [[Leonard Bernstein]] in [[Boston, Massachusetts|Boston]]. The commission did not specify the duration, orchestral requirements or style of the piece, leaving the decisions up to the composer.<ref>Program notes provided with the [[Naxos Records]] recording by the [[Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra]].</ref> Koussevitzky was billed to [[Conducting|conduct]] the premiere but fell ill{{fact|date=June 2007}} and the task was then given to the young Bernstein. Messiaen's second wife [[Yvonne Loriod]] was the [[piano]] soloist and Ginette Martenot played [[ondes Martenot]] for the first and several subsequent performances. From 1953, Yvonne's sister [[Jeanne Loriod]] was the ondes Martenot player in many performances and recordings.<ref name="score">Full score, pub, Durand.</ref> |
The '''''Turangalîla-Symphonie''''' is a large-scale piece of [[orchestra]]l music by [[Olivier Messiaen]]. It was written from 1946 to 1948, on a commission by [[Serge Koussevitzky]] for the [[Boston Symphony Orchestra]]. The premiere was given by that orchestra on [[December 2]], [[1949]], conducted by [[Leonard Bernstein]] in [[Boston, Massachusetts|Boston]]. The commission did not specify the duration, orchestral requirements or style of the piece, leaving the decisions up to the composer.<ref>Program notes provided with the [[Naxos Records]] recording by the [[Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra]] with [[François Weigel]] ([[piano]]), [[Thomas Bloch]] ([[ondes Martenot]]) and [[Antoni Wit]] ([[conductor]]).</ref> Koussevitzky was billed to [[Conducting|conduct]] the premiere but fell ill{{fact|date=June 2007}} and the task was then given to the young Bernstein. Messiaen's second wife [[Yvonne Loriod]] was the [[piano]] soloist and Ginette Martenot played [[ondes Martenot]] for the first and several subsequent performances. From 1953, Yvonne's sister [[Jeanne Loriod]] was the ondes Martenot player in many performances and recordings.<ref name="score">Full score, pub, Durand.</ref> |
||
==Concept== |
==Concept== |
||
Line 78: | Line 78: | ||
#'''Yan Pascal Tortelier''', BBC Philharmonic, Howard Shelley (piano) and Valérie Hartmann-Claverie (ondes martenot) - Chandos 1998 |
#'''Yan Pascal Tortelier''', BBC Philharmonic, Howard Shelley (piano) and Valérie Hartmann-Claverie (ondes martenot) - Chandos 1998 |
||
#'''Hans Vonk''', Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, Garrick Ohlsson (piano) and Jean Laurendeau (ondes martenot) - Pentatone 1999 live |
#'''Hans Vonk''', Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, Garrick Ohlsson (piano) and Jean Laurendeau (ondes martenot) - Pentatone 1999 live |
||
#'''Antoni Wit''', Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, Francois Weigel (piano) and Thomas Bloch (ondes martenot) - Naxos 1998 |
#'''Antoni Wit''', Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, Francois Weigel (piano) and [[Thomas Bloch]] (ondes martenot) - Naxos 1998 |
||
#'''Kent Nagano''', Berliner Philharmoniker, Pierre-Laurent Aimard (piano) and Dominique Kim (ondes martenot) - Teldec 2000 live |
#'''Kent Nagano''', Berliner Philharmoniker, Pierre-Laurent Aimard (piano) and Dominique Kim (ondes martenot) - Teldec 2000 live |
||
#'''Norichika Iimori''', Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, Kazuoki Fujii (piano) and Takashi Harada (ondes martenot) - Canyon 2001 |
#'''Norichika Iimori''', Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, Kazuoki Fujii (piano) and Takashi Harada (ondes martenot) - Canyon 2001 |
||
Line 91: | Line 91: | ||
==External links== |
==External links== |
||
*[http://www.philharmonia.co.uk/messiaen/music/turangalila.html Turangalîla-Symphonie] The Philharmonia Orchestra's Olivier Messiaen Website. Featuring films, photos, documents and much more. An interview with Esa-Pekka Salonen, a look at the percussion used and a visit to the site of the premiere in Boston. |
*[http://www.philharmonia.co.uk/messiaen/music/turangalila.html Turangalîla-Symphonie] The Philharmonia Orchestra's Olivier Messiaen Website. Featuring films, photos, documents and much more. An interview with Esa-Pekka Salonen, a look at the percussion used and a visit to the site of the premiere in Boston. |
||
* [http://www.thomasbloch.net/en_ondes-martenot About the ondes Martenot : facts, videos, pictures, recordings, players...] |
|||
* [http://www.thomasbloch.net/en_audio-video Audio excerpts from all 10 movements of the Symphonie] |
|||
* [http://www.obsolete.com/120_years/machines/martenot/ The Ondes-Martenot at Obsolete.com] - includes two audio excerpts from the symphony (Quicktime format). |
* [http://www.obsolete.com/120_years/machines/martenot/ The Ondes-Martenot at Obsolete.com] - includes two audio excerpts from the symphony (Quicktime format). |
||
Revision as of 17:56, 31 January 2009
The Turangalîla-Symphonie is a large-scale piece of orchestral music by Olivier Messiaen. It was written from 1946 to 1948, on a commission by Serge Koussevitzky for the Boston Symphony Orchestra. The premiere was given by that orchestra on December 2, 1949, conducted by Leonard Bernstein in Boston. The commission did not specify the duration, orchestral requirements or style of the piece, leaving the decisions up to the composer.[1] Koussevitzky was billed to conduct the premiere but fell ill[citation needed] and the task was then given to the young Bernstein. Messiaen's second wife Yvonne Loriod was the piano soloist and Ginette Martenot played ondes Martenot for the first and several subsequent performances. From 1953, Yvonne's sister Jeanne Loriod was the ondes Martenot player in many performances and recordings.[2]
Concept
While most of Messiaen's compositions are religious in inspiration, at the time of writing the symphony the composer was fascinated by the myth of Tristan and Isolde, and the Turangalîla Symphony forms the central work in his trilogy of compositions concerned with the themes of romantic love and death — the other pieces are Harawi for piano with soprano and Cinq rechants for unaccompanied choir[3]. It is considered a 20th century masterpiece and a typical performance runs around 80 minutes in length. When asked about the meaning of the work's duration in its ten movements and the reason for the use of the ondes Martenot, Messiaen simply replied, "It's a love song."[This quote needs a citation]
The title of the work, and those of its movements, were a late addition to the project. They were first described by Messiaen in a diary entry in early 1948.[3] He derived the title from two Sanskrit words, turanga and lîla, which roughly translate into English as "love song and hymn of joy, time, movement, rhythm, life, and death"[4], and described the joy of Turangalîla as "superhuman, overflowing, dazzling and abandoned".
Messiaen revised the work in 1990.[2]
Instrumentation
The piece is scored for:
- Solo piano and ondes Martenot;
- Woodwind: piccolo, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, cor anglais, 2 clarinets, bass clarinet, 3 bassoons;
- Brass: 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 1 trumpet in D, cornet, 3 trombones, 1 tuba;
- At least 8 and up to 11 percussionists,[2] playing: vibraphone, keyed and mallet glockenspiels, triangle, temple blocks and wood block, cymbals (crash and three types of suspended), tam tam, tambourine, maracas, snare drum, Provençal tabor, bass drum, and tubular bells;
- celesta, and strings (32 violins, 14 violas, 12 cellos and 10 double basses)[2]
The demanding piano part includes several solo cadenzas.
Cyclic themes
In writing about the work, Messiaen identified four "cyclic" themes that reappear throughout; there are other themes specific to each movement.[4] In the score the themes are numbered, but in later writings he gave them names to make them easier to identify, without intending the names to have any other, literary meaning.
This is the flower theme. It is introduced by two clarinets. |
This theme, the most important of all, is the love theme. It appears in many different guises, from hushed strings in movement 6, to a full orchestral treatment in the climax of the finale. |
A simple chain of chords, used to produce opposing chords on the piano and crossing counterpoints in the orchestra. |
Structure
The work is in ten movements, linked by the common themes identified above, and other musical ideas:
- Introduction. Modéré, un peu vif: A "curtain raiser" introducing the "statue theme" and the "flower theme", followed by the body of the movement, which superimposes two ostinato groups with rhythmic punctuations. A reprise of the "statue" theme closes the introduction.
- Chant d’amour (Love song) 1. Modéré, lourd: After an atonal introduction, this movement is built on an alternation of a fast and passionate theme dominated by the trumpets, and a soft and gentle theme for the strings and ondes.
- Turangalîla 1. Presque lent, rêveur: Three themes are stated: one starting with a solo clarinet, the second for low brass and strings, and the third a sinuous theme on the woodwinds. The movement then develops and, later, overlaps the themes, with the addition of a new rhythm in the percussion.
- Chant d’amour 2. Bien modéré: Introduced by a scherzo for piccolo and bassoon, this movement is in nine sections, some of which recall and develop music heard earlier. A calm coda in A major brings it to a close.
- Joie du Sang des Étoiles (Joy of the Blood of the Stars). Vif, passionné avec joie: A frenetic dance whose main theme is a fast variant of the "statue theme". For Messiaen, it represented the union of two lovers seen as a transformation on a cosmic scale. The dance is interrupted by a shattering piano cadenza before a brief orchestral coda.
- Jardin du Sommeil d’amour (Garden of Love’s Sleep). Très modéré, très tendre: The first full rendition of the "love" theme in the strings and ondes is accompanied by idealized birdsong played by the piano, and by other orchestral coloristic effects. According to Messiaen, "The two lovers are enclosed in love's sleep. A landscape comes out from them..."
- Turangalîla 2. Un peu vif, bien modéré: A completely atonal movement that is intended to invoke terror, with a predominant role for the percussion ensemble.
- Développement d’amour (Development of Love). Bien modéré: For Messiaen, the title can be considered in two ways. For the lovers, it is terrible: united by the love potion, they are trapped in a passion growing to the infinite. Musically, this is the work's development section.
- Turangalîla 3. Bien modéré: A theme is introduced by the woodwind. A five-part percussion ensemble introduces a rhythmic series that then sustains a set of superimposed variations on the woodwind theme.
- Final. Modéré, presque vif, avec une grande joie: The movement is in sonata form: A brass fanfare, coupled with a fast variation of the "love theme", is developed and leads to a long coda, a final version of the "love" theme played fortissimo by the entire orchestra. The work ends on an enormous chord of F♯ major. In Messiaen's words, "glory and joy are without end".
The composer's initial plan was for a symphony in the conventional four movements, which eventually became numbers 1, 4, 6, and 10. Next, he added the three Turangalîla movements, which he originally called tâlas, a reference to the use of rhythm in Indian classical music. Numbers 2 and 8 came next, and finally the 5th movement was inserted.[3] Early on, Messiaen authorized separate performance of movements 3, 4, and 5, as Three tâlas (not to be confused with the original use of the term for the three Turangalîla movements), but later came to disapprove of the performance of extracts.
Recordings
- Roger Désormière, Orchestre National de la Radio Télévision Française, Yvonne Loriod (piano) and Ginette Martenot (ondes martenot) - INA 1950 live (European premiere, at Aix-en-Provence Festival on 25th July 1950)
- Hans Rosbaud, SWF-Sinfonieorchester Baden-Baden, Yvonne Loriod (piano) and Ginette Martenot (ondes martenot) - Wergo 1951
- Maurice Le Roux, Orchestre National de la RTF, Yvonne Loriod (piano) and Jeanne Loriod (ondes martenot) - Vega/Accord 1961 (supervised by Messiaen)
- Jean Fournet, Netherlands Radio Philharmonic, Yvonne Loriod (piano) and Jeanne Loriod (ondes martenot) - Q Disc 1967 live
- Seiji Ozawa, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Yvonne Loriod (piano) and Jeanne Loriod (ondes martenot) - RCA 1967
- André Previn, London Symphony Orchestra, Michel Béroff (piano) and Jeanne Loriod (ondes martenot) - EMI 1977
- Louis de Froment, Orchestre Symphonique de RTL, Yvonne Loriod (piano) and Jeanne Loriod (ondes martenot) - Forlane 1982 live
- Esa-Pekka Salonen, Philharmonia Orchestra, Paul Crossley (piano) and Tristan Murail (ondes martenot) - CBS/Sony 1985
- Simon Rattle, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Peter Donohoe (piano) and Tristan Murail (ondes martenot) - EMI 1986
- Myung-Whun Chung, Orchestre de l'Opéra Bastille, Yvonne Loriod (piano) and Jeanne Loriod (ondes martenot) - Deutsche Grammophon 1990 (supervised by Messiaen, and first recording of the revised version)
- Riccardo Chailly, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Jean-Yves Thibaudet (piano) and Takashi Harada (ondes martenot) - Decca 1992
- Marek Janowski, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Roger Muraro (piano) and Valérie Hartmann-Claverie (ondes martenot) - RCA 1992
- Yan Pascal Tortelier, BBC Philharmonic, Howard Shelley (piano) and Valérie Hartmann-Claverie (ondes martenot) - Chandos 1998
- Hans Vonk, Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, Garrick Ohlsson (piano) and Jean Laurendeau (ondes martenot) - Pentatone 1999 live
- Antoni Wit, Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, Francois Weigel (piano) and Thomas Bloch (ondes martenot) - Naxos 1998
- Kent Nagano, Berliner Philharmoniker, Pierre-Laurent Aimard (piano) and Dominique Kim (ondes martenot) - Teldec 2000 live
- Norichika Iimori, Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, Kazuoki Fujii (piano) and Takashi Harada (ondes martenot) - Canyon 2001
- Ryusuke Numajiri, Japan Philharmonic Orchestra, Ichiro Nodaira (piano) and Takashi Harada (ondes martenot) - Exton 2002 live
- Thierry Fischer, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Roger Muraro (piano) and Jacques Tchamkerten (ondes martenot) - BBC Music 2006 live
- Sylvain Cambreling, SWR Sinfonieorchester Baden-Baden und Freiburg, Roger Muraro (piano) and Valérie Hartmann-Claverie (ondes martenot) - Hänssler 2008
References
- ^ Program notes provided with the Naxos Records recording by the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra with François Weigel (piano), Thomas Bloch (ondes Martenot) and Antoni Wit (conductor).
- ^ a b c d Full score, pub, Durand.
- ^ a b c Peter Hill and Nigel Simeone (2005). Messiaen. Yale University Press, New Haven and London. ISBN 0-300-10907-5.
- ^ a b Some of the information in this article can be found in the program notes, written by Messiaen, provided with the DG recording by Orchestre de l'Opéra Bastille.
External links
- Turangalîla-Symphonie The Philharmonia Orchestra's Olivier Messiaen Website. Featuring films, photos, documents and much more. An interview with Esa-Pekka Salonen, a look at the percussion used and a visit to the site of the premiere in Boston.
- About the ondes Martenot : facts, videos, pictures, recordings, players...
- Audio excerpts from all 10 movements of the Symphonie
- The Ondes-Martenot at Obsolete.com - includes two audio excerpts from the symphony (Quicktime format).