The composer and critic Virgil Thomson described Olivier Messiaen’s music as ‘convulsive, ecstatic, cataclysmic, terrifying and unreal’. All converge in the most vibrant and unignorable symphony of the 20th century: Messiaen’s Turangalîla Symphony. Nicholas Collon and the BBC Philharmonic perform a work that opens up the heavens even as it brings down the house, after the tantalising prospect of a world premiere by Anna Clyne. The Gorgeous Nothings, written specially for the Proms, is the composer’s response to the ‘spellbinding wordsmithery’ of American poet Emily Dickinson, scored for orchestra, amplified voices and real-time electronic processing.

The Swingles

Jul 30, 2024

Prom 15: Messiaen’s Turangalîla Symphony

The Swingles