Messiaen, Olivier 1908 - 1992
Author: Hirano, Takatoshi
Last updated：January 20, 2014
Author: Hirano, Takatoshi
Messiaen's piano works are among the most important repertoire of 20th-century piano music. The piano genre formed the core of Messiaen's creative output, and he produced numerous piano works throughout his more than 70 years of creative activity. It is also noteworthy that the piano is often treated as a solo instrument in his representative orchestral works, such as Turangalîla-Symphonie (1946-1948). When composing piano works, Messiaen had in mind the advanced technique and sight-reading ability of his wife and long-time collaborator, the pianist Yvonne Loriod (1924-2010). Many of the distinctive figuration and harmonies that characterize Messiaen's piano works were conceived with inspiration from Loriod's playing.
Messiaen composed a total of 65 works for solo piano or two pianos, with a total performance time exceeding 8 hours. Two large collections, Vingt Regards sur l'Enfant-Jésus (1943) and Catalogue d'oiseaux (1956-1958), symbolize, respectively, the love of God and the love of nature, themes that permeate Messiaen's entire musical output. Next in importance are Préludes (1928-1929), written at the very beginning of his compositional career; Visions de l'Amen (1943), composed under the inspiration of his encounter with Loriod; and Quatre Études de rythme (1949-1950), based on the principles of total serialism. In addition, there are Cantéyodjayâ (1949), which belongs to the same series as Quatre Études de rythme; and La Fauvette des jardins (1970) and Petites esquisses d'oiseaux (1985), which are extensions of Catalogue d'oiseaux.
These works can be divided into the following four categories:
- 1. Early works (Préludes)
- 2. Works with theological themes written during and immediately after World War II (Visions de l'Amen, Vingt Regards sur l'Enfant-Jésus)
- 3. Experimental works (Cantéyodjayâ, Quatre Études de rythme)
- 4. Works incorporating bird song (Catalogue d'oiseaux, La Fauvette des jardins, Petites esquisses d'oiseaux)
In addition to Turangalîla-Symphonie, orchestral works in which the piano part is emphasized include Trois petites liturgies de la Présence Divine (1943-1944), Réveil des oiseaux (1953), Oiseaux exotiques (1955-1956), Sept Haïkaï (1962), Couleurs de la Cité Céleste (1963), and Des canyons aux étoiles... (1971-1974). The piano is also used in vocal works such as Harawi (1945).
Author : Yokota, Yuki
Last Updated: May 1, 2006
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Author : Yokota, Yuki
One of the most important composers of the 20th century. Although Messiaen's musical language was highly distinctive, his various activities in composition, performance, and education significantly influenced the development of 20th-century music.
Born in Avignon, France. His father, Pierre, was an English teacher who translated all of Shakespeare's works into French, and his mother, Cécile Sauvage, was a poetess. He began composing at the age of seven, and in 1918, receiving the score of Debussy's Pelléas et Mélisande from his harmony teacher, Jean de Gibon, proved to be a decisive moment in his life. He entered the Paris Conservatoire at the age of eleven. After graduating from the Conservatoire in 1930, he immediately became the organist at the Church of La Sainte-Trinité in Paris, a position he held for over half a century.
From 1936, he taught at the École Normale de Musique and the Schola Cantorum in Paris. In the same year, he co-founded "La Jeune France" with Baudrier, Lesur, Jolivet, but the group's activities were interrupted with the outbreak of World War II. In 1940, he was taken prisoner by the German army and composed Quatuor pour la fin du temps (Quartet for the End of Time) in a Silesian prisoner-of-war camp. The work was premiered the following year before 5,000 prisoners. After his release in 1941, he was appointed Professor of Harmony at the Paris Conservatoire. Thereafter, he actively taught both in France and abroad. From 1947, he was appointed Professor of the newly established analysis class at the Paris Conservatoire, where he developed unique teaching methods and produced many disciples, including Boulez and Stockhausen. From 1966 to 1978, he was Professor of Composition at the same Conservatoire. In 1967, he was elected a member of the Académie des Beaux-Arts, and in the same year, an international piano competition bearing his name was established.
Even after retiring from the Paris Conservatoire in 1978, he continued his prolific compositional activities. His opera Saint François d'Assise, which took over eight years to compose, was premiered in 1983 at the Paris Opéra under the baton of Seiji Ozawa. In 1985, he received the first Kyoto Prize.
Works(21)
Piano Solo
pieces (10)
character pieces (5)
Chamber Music
Chamber music (1)
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