Review by Blair Sanderson
Olivier Messiaen's Turangali^la-symphonie is an astonishing work and its position in first place on this program is only natural since it is a masterpiece of twentieth century orchestral writing. Unfortunately, Esa-Pekka Salonen and the Philharmonia Orchestra give it a quick, detached performance, efficient and technically accurate but lacking resonance and emotional involvement. Although this is not the best recording one can find, it still has enough substance to make it a fair alternate choice. Because this immense composition is continued on a second disc, the rest of the set is filled out with shorter pieces. Ideally, these should have been complementary selections, if not in scope and grandeur, then at least in tone or style. Witold Lutoslawski's Les espaces du sommeil, for baritone and orchestra, is by no means an insignificant piece, yet it seems lackluster in comparison with the preceding work. Its introspective mood and dark coloration make it an odd item to follow the dazzling Turangali^la. An even stranger choice is Lutoslawski's quirky Symphony No. 3, a flawed work that requires patience from the listener to comprehend its fragmentary first movement. Salonen and the Los Angeles Philharmonic barely make this symphony cohere, but its inclusion is a disappointment.
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