The Toronto Symphony Orchestra and Music Director Gustavo Gimeno rehearse Messiaen’s Turangalîla Symphony at Roy Thomson Hall, May 4, 2023. Photo by Ammar Bowaihl.
In Thursday’s (2/1) Globe and Mail (Toronto), Mira Miller writes, “The Toronto Symphony Orchestra was mid-rehearsal, and it was just two days before they were set to play their first of two concerts of the Turangalîla-Symphonie last May. These instrumentalists were facing an unusual amount of pressure because, unlike their typical concerts, their dual performances of Turangalîla—an exceptionally difficult, lengthy, and beloved composition—won’t disappear when the conductor lowers his baton. As a celebration of its centennial season, the TSO has produced a live recording of this symphony, to be released on Feb. 2, in their first partnership with independent classical music label Harmonia Mundi. Toronto’s orchestra first recorded Turangalîla in 1968, with Seiji Ozawa as music director. It was the first North American recording of the piece, and it put the TSO on the global map. Now the organization is revisiting this iconic moment by creating a new recording of the larger-than-life piece, with music director and conductor Gustavo Gimeno … Written by Olivier Messiaen, Turangalîla is a 10-movement, 75-minute symphony scored for a colossal orchestra with an exceptionally large percussion section. It explores themes of love and overwhelming joy while using dissonance.”
