Messiaen, January 24

[Serial_Apologist]

Just caught up with this. Truly and utterly amazing concert. Indeed, what a pity about the that man yelling his head off at the end, but at least there was some silence at the end before the applause began!!

I'm not that surprised, to be frank. That holding of the final blazing A major chord at the conclusion to the work until it does away to silence would surely have conduced the audience to wait before applauding, and I really must check my existing recording of the work to see if that is normal practice, given that my own reaction to so magnificent a performance, had I been there, would I'm certain have been bursting to make its enthusasm felt!

[HighlandDougie]

Un grand merci à Alain! Like so much in a busy life, this concert would have passed me by - had it not been flagged up here (and thanks to Bryn for the quick link to i-Player). Extraordinary work, particularly given the times and place in which it was written, in a truly stellar performance.

[BBMmk2]

Rather bell-like in ome of the movements. Sounds quite orchestral too.

[Sir Velo]

Oh dear! I'm afraid I'm going to have to dissent from the majority view and say that, for me, this performance rather lacked the final ounce of sheer galactic abandon generated in the classic account by Argerich and Rabinowitch. Splendidly captured by the BBC and for anyone unfamiliar with the EMI recording, no doubt a fine rendition, but just a little down in cosmic energy by comparison.