Momentary weightlessness

The ingredients for a successful performance of Messiaen’s Turangalîla-Symphonie are numerous; not only does one require a large, well-rehearsed orchestra with an arsenal of percussionists, but a virtuoso pianist who can integrate themselves into the orchestra, and someone who knows their way around an ondes Martenot. Despite (or perhaps because of) its great technical requirements, the piece has spent the two decades since Messiaen’s death inching its way from the periphery of the repertoire to the core, and attracting new followers with every performance. Yet the mounting popularity of this monumental work is not wholly surprising. For all its conceptual underpinnings and ingenious treatments of rhythm and texture, the appeal of the symphony rests largely in its direct expressions of ecstasy – a kind of secular spirituality,…