Messiaen - Turangalîla Symphonie - 5th Movt "Joie du Sang des Étoiles"- Aimard, Davis 

How is no one applauding the camera work as well lol. Probably one of the best "live" recording videos I've seen.

I'm more than pleasantly astounded by the number of comments for this piece. Nearly 300,000 views, too. For a post WW2 piece, that's quite a feat. I love this performance, and absolutely love this symphony. Messiaen's one of my all time favorite composers, a true original and master craftsman. And to those calling it atonal music, Messiaen's music is actually modal (polymodal) AND tonal. Turangalila Symphonie has plenty of tonal moments (expanded tonality ambiguously blended with Messiaen's modes of limited transposition), including this movement which is written in a Db key signature.

did messiaen hear all these fantastical sounds in his head? how did he manage all this music? what genius.

And Aimard plays by memory!!!!

I will move heaven and earth to hear this whenever it shows up on a program. I've heard it perhaps 10 times live. One of the most memorable was a French radio orchestra at Carnegie Hall. The final d-flat major chord of this movement almost became a physical entity which you could feel. The conductor held it as long as the brass could hang on and it almost seemed like the building was going to collapse on top of us.

I was at this concert too, sitting in the center of the eighth row. (Was it 1975?) It was the first time I had ever heard an orchestra in person. At the end of the last movement, the old gentleman sitting in the seat behind me was whisked away by some younger people who accompanied him. Then he appeared on stage with Ozawa and the Loriods. It was Messiaen! The ovations had to have lasted a good 20 minutes. It was an unforgettable experience indeed!

An awesome performance for a youth orchestra. It's a demanding work to play convincingly.

note the piano solo at 5:27 and the heavy gesturing of Sir Andrew Davis. It gives me goosebumps. I was actually present at this recording. Wonderful to see it now on youtube. Thank you!

This video, posted 17 years ago, was my introduction to both Messiaen and Sir Andrew Davis. RIP Sir Davis. Somehow, it sounds even better than I remember it sounding back in 2007 (maybe because I'm older now, or because I have a better sound system?)

WOW! This is my new favorite video on RU-vid! I can't believe people so young can play this. Heard it LIVE at St. David's Hall with the BBC Orchestra under Thiery Fisher (they've a good CD recording of this, out with BBC Music Magazine.) I LOVE the fact there are FOUR keyboard instruments (only Messiaen!!) Piano, Celeste, Ondes Martenot and Keyed Glockenspiel!! Messiaen ROCKS! Check out the final piano solo. Ha ha haaa... you couldn't make that up could you?

Ahhhhh.... This is my favourite movement from this piece. I have the recording of Kent Nagano with the Berlin Philharmonic performing this piece, and Mr. Aimard is featured in that recording as well, wonderful playing by such young performers. It is a dream of mine to watch this piece performed live, if only for the magnificent chord at the end of this movement. The conductor makes the same face I do while listening to it, and that makes me very happy.

Messiaen 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."

OOOOOHHHH MYYYY GOOOOD!!!! AMAZING. The piano part its incredibly difficult. My piano teacher played it in the premier of this symphony in México, with Carlos Chavez... its been a long time.

The name of this movement reflects everything it represents musically: it's joyful, frightening and sounds like it's from outer space!

This one is good because you can actually hear the percussion really well (In my opinion, giving the shimmering effect of the stars)

How extraordinary! I came upon this clip by chance and am pleased to be able to say. I was there. I saw the NYO of GB in another Prom season give Shostakovich 4. That was quite something too.

who needs a playboy subscription when you have this

as great a performance as it gets. and shocking to see that it is done by young students. this piece is NEVER done by a youth orchestra. this is mind-blowing.

The ondes Martenot at 5:04 is the climax of the piece for me...absolutely outstanding, gets me every time. Amazing piece, amazing playing.

All I can say is hoooooooolllllllly s**t! What was Messiaen's thoughts were during this creativity? My God, my God, what a way to show the Glory of God in this amazing work! Ty for posting it! I have always wanted to see what it would look like live!

You know, I searched for Messiaen in the list of top 25 composers of 21th century.At first, I decided to listen to listen to a piece from the next person on the list ,but this piece got me and didn't let me go. Complicated and full of Energy!!!

Magnificent! And a director who can read a score!!

Un vrai régal, et avec des musiciens si jeunes ! Bravo à tous ! Et Pierre-Laurent Aimard, toujours au sommet !

Only just found out, Matt Groening got Leela from Futurama's name from this! (Turanga-leela)

The problem is that you're TRYING to understand it. If you don't pay attention to the texture of it and you focus on what you FEEL, you will then comprehend exactly what Messiaen is trying to express; the same goes for most Monty Python movies

This is brilliant, happy, beautiful music. If you disagree, you are wrong.

Turangalila is by far my favourite of Messaien's symphonies and this particualr piece is my favourite in Turangalila. I love the the underlying rhyhm textures that the flute and percussion create while so much high energy brass is going on in what sounds like a completely different timing. It's easier to just say that this is incredible! It must be amazing to be part of the orchestra performing this piece, let alone conducting it.

June 1st & 3rd (2007) Pittsburgh symphony music lovers were treated to the amazing Turangalila-Symphonie conducted by the wonderful Sir Andrew Davis. He meticulously directed this world class orchestra through the musical journey of Messiaen's genius. Marc-Andre Hamelin, piano and Jean Laurendeau, Ondes Martinot along with the exuberant Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra performed a world class piece with world class ability and spirit. Thank you PSO and Sir Andrew Davis.

I got shivers during all the movement ! I love it, it's so powerful :)

The more brass the better! i can listen to this again and again and again!

Never heard a piece this crazy before and probably will never again hear something as different as this

This is the most wonderful thing ever made. It chokes me up every time i hear. i can't believe the age of some of the people playing this piece. The whole of Turangalila is incredible but this one - oh god its got so much in it! The ryhtms that the flutes and piano are creating! Ooooh my god! Its bloody cosmic!

I love this video! Great playing for such young musicians. Speaking of Aimard, have you heard his recording of this piece with the Berlin Philharmonic and Kent Nagano? Of all the recordings out there of the Turangalila, that's the one I go back to the most.

fabulous sound. heard on radio 3 recently, one of the only performances of the recently rediscovered 'song of freedom' by the bbc chorus. a transcendant fabulous work. OM composed this on his liberation, after only some months, from a concentration camp in Silesia at the end of WW2 and dedicated it to memory of the victims and survivors of the holacaust. does anyone know where i can obtain a recording/cd ?

When I listened to this piece live in the Barbican London, it was one of the greatest, and emotional musical experiences of my life! One day I´ll love to experience that again

Wow.... Exciting.... wonderful to hear young musicians playing such virtuoso stuff. I heard the Canadian national youth orch on the CBC radio today playing Strauss' ein heldenleden and they were inspring also that such young people can play so stunningly. On Turangalila, I used to get shit from my friends for loudly playing such "weird" music on casette tapes during long road trips. I'm so glad to see Messiaen is now getting a bit more recognition.

Thank you for this fantastic video. I´m absolutely surprised about the very well performane of this young orchestra. The tempi are amazing - great interpretation. I´m sure, Olivier Messiaen would like this interpretation ! Thanks again & best wishes

your comment is exactly right on. i believe Messiaen is the next step in the natural evolution of original music. Debussy was the master before him. his music is indeed from another dimension. and literally.

I get to hear this, followed by the complete Tristan und Isolde (with Nina Stemme) the following night in April, played by the Cleveland Orchestra. I can hardly wait for this musical feast! Pianist will be the same man as heard here.

i will probably post another movement of this performance soon. i do want people to buy it, so i wont be posting the whole thing (of this performance). i have two other performances i could post (possibly completely).

so thereare.a great movement. the march in the first movement is great! were was the clapping i know its not the last movement but still pople clap in the middle of works at the proms.

you would not believe how much i envy you! i would LOVE it if hamelin were to come to los angeles with a program like that! unfortunately, he isnt here often. i will see the turangalîla in august, but sadly not with hamelin. hopefully, it should still be a good performance.

I too would love to hear that. I love Messiaen's O Sacrum Convivium! and his Cinq Rechants to a lesser extent, and I was hoping to hear more choral music. I'll keep an eye out for it.

Thank You! I feel I have heard music for the first time!!!

there is no commercial release of this. i just know of a guy that sells it, along with other non-commercial goodies.

due to the nice responses here, i might upload another segment. not the whole thing though! messiaen needs support and i want you guys to invest a little money in his music.

@frozinfire Oh god! Thats the bit I like the most! Thats what makes me come back to this piece again and again.

It's absolutely bonkers how well these kids play this music. And the orchestra is twice the usual size!

This movement is so much fun; like a roller coaster ride all over the place.

Actually, he really didn't start using bird song as a basis for composition until around the 1950s when he wrote Reveil des Oiseaux, the Catalogue d'Oiseaux, and Le Merle Noir. Everything before these compositions, including Turangalila, only passively quotes birdsong. The influence is there, but it isn't put into major use until the pieces I mentioned.

@KhagarBalugrak if you think for a second that the music Schoenberg cannot be beautiful just because some researcher says that atonal music kills plants, you're not appreciating music - you're appreciating research. There are many composers I prefer to Schoenberg, but it is not because I can't grow a garden around him.

While listening to the whole symphony, in my mind there is this animated movie playing about Halloween, and in the early movements it was about preparations kids are dressing up, and then later it was about this little witch who gets angry at kids because they don't want to go trick-or-treating with her and she starts turning them into the things they're dressed as. Then in the last movement, her mother comes in and starts trying to fix the mess her daughter made before the parents find out :p

National Youth Orchestra, here, is for me something like a perfect ensemble of Angels playing Music for God! And Messiaen is .. I can't find words.. this Music makes me feel better!

Yes - isn't it wonderful? I heard it for the first time last week at the Royal Festival Hall, London. Orchestra of the Royal College of Music. French conductor.... can't remember his name. The most joyous and thrilling work I've heard in years.

Wow what a phenomenal performance. Wish all the movements were on YT. Aimard plays with great skill and panache. The cadenza (an extremely wild series of 3rds) is stunning. Wonderful final chord...really ear shattering.

@BlueCougar Hey, it's a kid's orchestra. They wanted to make sure that everyone participated, I guess, so that no hearts were broken when they would have told them that they couldn't perform at the Proms on live television! Or at least that is my theory.

haha...that's cool ...i got to listen to this live- sooo good in the program it said the symphony was not story based but about the idea of "chant d'amour, hymne a la joie, temps, mouvement, rhytme, vie et mort...and l'amour fatal...like in Tristan and Yseult

The theremin makes this movement sound so spaced-out

Oh gosh, I wish I'd been there. This is simply magnificent.

Chilled to the bone... And this is just a Youth orchestra... someone hold me... soo damn beautiful!!!

I can listen to this part endless....

I love this movement...see it live sometime in your life!!

saw this piece live yesterday in leipzig/gewandhaus. you're right shota871, truly orgasmic! was hard to manage not to start yelling out screams of joy while performance, cause of this insane piano-part and above all the ending of this 5th movement.sound is pushing into the seats!

Hmmm, 2001 proms ... looks like there is no CD recording of this available? Did they play the whole symphony there, and if so, can I find the rest of it anywhere online?

youll definitely love it. its an amazing performance by both soloists and the orchestra. when i saw it for the first time, i was in awe.

Where isthe full concert? Please

Huge ensemble, any idea how many players overall?

i have a few more videos of the piece. i might post a movement or two from those for comparison purposes. maybe even the whole thing if i get bored.

@mujerado, there's an article on ehow.com about this. It won't let me post the link for some reason, but you can search for the article and find it. It's called "How Do Plants React To Classical Music?" The researcher, Dorothy Retallack, is very famous, and her work has been featured over 500 times in various magazines and newspapers. She found that Schoenberg killed plants while Palestrina caused them to thrive.

What a BIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIG orchestra !!!!!!!!

jre58591 : Do You mean that there is acommercial release of this ? on DVD ? could You give us the reference of it ? Thanks in advance.

Now if the rest of Messiaen was this good and comprehensible, a better modern music world. Can't stand most of his stuff, and I was present for the debut of the big one in Detroit.

Did anyone else notice the very large number of brass and winds? I thought it was for 3:3:3:3 and 4:3:3:1 with a few additions. There looks to be at at least double those numbers here.

Wow! I only wish it had been better miked so that the more colorful effects (such as the theremin-like sounds and the tubular bells) hadn't gotten lost in the giant body of sound. Quite impressive!

I think that what they've done is instead of doubling both the celesta and timbres parts, they have put them together for each player. So each player is playing the celesta part at the same time as the timbres part. I think I can say this, because in the score, the chords aren't as large as the chords that the players are playing for the single parts.

swirls of chaos, in which eddies form that crystallise into planes .. I dont know, it feels like that. And these planes rise higher and higher, sky gets ever darker until all the stars blaze with light. Pure heaven.

Who is the lady at the electric piano thingy??!! I NEED TO KNOW

it was at the bbc proms wasnt it?

An absolute joy to listen to.....brilliant!!

The most awesome thing in the world.

The piano part was originally written for Bobby Crush whose grandfather Victor Crush was killed at the Battle of the Somme whilst running towards the enemy with parsnips strapped to chest. At the first rehearsal Bobby famously exclaimed "Olly, I can't play THIS!" at which point Yvonne Loriod stepped in. The rest, as they say, is history.

Those were kids in that orchestra!! They kick ass!

Agreed. They nailed all the crazy colours, no? And they really captured the joy of all those Ellington-esque turnarounds (e.g. 1:50 - 1:53). My one reservation: they didn't milk the crescendo the way they could have. Check out the recording by Seiji Ozawa and the TSO. It's like the sound of the Sun exploding.

Esta obra me sobrecoge el corazón, me hace sentir tan pequeño y envuelto en una infinidad galáctica hermosa, me entierra en mi silla y no puedo hacer nada más que escuchar e imaginarme viendo a la Tierra desde la deriva, flotando en el universo.

such a great work but yeesh! what's with the ludicrously large amount of doubled wind parts? i mean, is that 7 trombones? c'mon! The editing circa 1:50 is incredible...

The first rule of listening to music is this: You never ever expect music to sound like what you think it will. You must engage with and interact with every note, and appreciate each work on its own terms, before placing it in its historical context.

5:40 are the colour chords. Someone knows what colour represents the third chord (5:45) ??? thanks.

Maybe my favorite movement from all Messiaen, with the Introduction of the same symphony.

love it

This is like intense happiness, like when a team wins a championship or something! It also makes me think of Bugs Bunny in the main melodies.

Absolutely astonishing! The big M will be missed!

@swaggerofthedagger You mean he actually sends people to my videos? I'm honored!

This piece sends little shivers of ecstasy up and down my spine.

that piano cadenza is formidable indeed - i have to get the score of this work.

I meant "went" to college (need an edit function to correct typos). Used the opening part of this movement for my classical show on Radio KAOS at Evergreen College where we both attended.

GOLLY!!! I LOVE THIS TOO MUCH!!!

Wow! Never heard that before (yes, EW sent me here). Incredible. And I love that Ondes Martenot!

I love this piece so much I want to take it home and introduce it to my velour bedspread-a.

kinda chaotic. certainly gets your heart going. the composer of the song said it was "a love song". i wonder what he meant by that.

Yes! Its not difficult to enjoy Messiaen works... its just pay attention to the texture and the bird singing chords! But i have to say that the turangalila symphony is my favourite work of Messiaen! Unique...brought some inspiration for modern composers!