Messiaen'sTurangalîla

Everything about the Turangalîla Symphony is exuberant, colourful and excessive. It is an extravagant celebration of love, with music of total exhilaration from the brilliant mind of Olivier Messiaen, one of the great composers of the 20th century.

Overflowing with Messiaen’s musical visions of colour, this most dazzling of works demands a massive orchestra of more than 100 players and two soloists – piano, and a mesmerising electronic instrument called the ondes martenot. Musicians from the Australian National Academy of Music (ANAM), innovative pianist Joanna MacGregor and the world’s finest ondes player, Cynthia Millar, will join the APO under the baton of Stefan Asbury.

Rarely performed, the opportunity to experience the Turangalîla Symphony live in concert may only come along once in a lifetime. This stupendous event promises to be one of the musical highlights of 2019. Don’t miss it.

Unwrap Messiaen’s Turangalîla
Before the concert, musical expert Graham Abbott will present an insightful and informative ‘unwrap’ from the stage – an exploration of the music with performances of sections from the piece – which is sure to enrich your enjoyment of this monumental work.

Messiaen's Turangalîla is part of the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra 2019 season. 

APO principal percussionist Eric Renick talks to the New Zealand Herald about the percussion line-up in Messiaen's Turangalîla Symphony and In C. Read the interview here

Ondes martenot player Cynthia Millar talks to RNZ Concert about performing Messiaen's Turangalîla Symphony. Listen here

Images: Adrian Malloch

"Banks of strings made luscious love music sound as if Wagner and Ravel had met up on a Hollywood soundstage." – New Zealand Herald
Read the review here