The premiere was in Boston on 2 December 1949, conducted by Leonard Bernstein. The commission did not specify the duration, orchestral requirements or style of the piece, leaving the decisions to the composer. Koussevitzky was billed to conduct the premiere, but fell ill, and the task fell to the young Bernstein. Bernstein has been described as "the ideal conductor for it, and it made Messiaen's name more widely known". Yvonne Loriod, who later became Messiaen's second wife, was the piano soloist, and Ginette Martenot played the ondes Martenot for the first and several subsequent performances.
Date of composition | 1948 (1946-1948; revised in 1990) |
Premiered | 1949, December 2nd (Symphony Hall Boston) in Boston, MA, United States |
Type | Symphony |
Catalogue | I/29 |
Approx. duration | 80 minutes |
Instruments |
Piano
Ondes Martenot Orchestra |
Autotranslations beta |
Olivier Messiaen: Turangalîla-Symphonie Olivier Messiaen: Turangalîla-Symphonie Olivier Messiaen: Turangalîla-Symphonie |