The 50th anniversary of
Olivier Messiaen
's
Des canyons aux étoiles...
brought forth several performances of the hefty 90-minute work, otherwise not terribly often heard. The
Utah Symphony
went out to the canyonlands, from which
Messiaen
took his inspiration, visiting Utah in response to a commission for a work to celebrate the U.S. bicentennial. Not to be outdone, the
Seattle Symphony
performed the work with images of Bryce Canyon projected on big screens; it is from those live performances that this recording is taken. It is a strong performance across the board, with sterling engineering work in the complex score, keeping the textures clear. The pianist is important to a successful performance of the work; originally, the part was played by
's wife,
Yvonne Loriod
, and here,
Steven Osborne
, always confident in French music, delivers the right edge.
conductor
Ludovic Morlot
is also at home in this repertory, and he gets some superb playing from the orchestra. The complex percussion parts are clear, there are lively treatments of
's trademark bird calls, and check out, especially the difficult solo in the "Appel interstellaire" solo movement from hornist
Jeffery Fair
(who doesn't even get a credit in the minimalist "booklet"). This is a performance that could inspire other orchestras to add this epic work to their repertories. ~ James Manheim