Olivier Messiaen (1908-1992)

[vers la flamme]

I hope you watched that 'Noel' video in reply #507 a few posts above on this page - that is one of the Vingt (No.13) played for the composer by his wife - as such it's very moving.

You're right—amazing. Thanks.

[aukhawk]

Batagov is highly unusual, actually, if you'll forgive me, with an almost Rachmaninov-like heavy, both emotional and spiritual approach, and getting and hearing that recording completely changed the work's appeal for me. I also have or have had Beroff, Hill (now culled), the early Loriod (which I also liked somewhat), and the old Oliveira on Vox, whose recording I don't remember anything about, but whose 'Catalogue ...' I like.

Oooh I didn't know about Batagov.  Such a natural fit for this music.  Looks like one of his earliest recordings (1989) but still, characteristically slow - even more so than Osborne (and by quite a margin sometimes).  Thanks for mentioning him, I shall look forward to this!
At the opposite end of the spectrum would be Momo Kodama, who is a specialist in the French piano repertoire with a crystalline technique.  Loriod is always good I think (I like her Oiseaux, more lyrical than most) but the sound is a bit dated in such a contested field.

[Selig]

Who's the fastest in Vingt regards, the anti-Batagov?

[aukhawk]

Without actually checking any durations, I'd guess probably Loriod herself.  She takes a surprisingly unsentimental view in Messiaen's music generally.  Also, I acquired Pi-hsien Chen not so long ago but was disappointed - too quick for my taste.

[Mandryka]

Over the past few weeks I've been listening fairly frequently to La Rousserolle Effarvatte, which is Book 4 of  the Catalogie d'oiseaux. This one by Peter Serkin, not even mentioned on the cover of the release, has caught my imagination most. Somehow, and I really cannot explain how, he seems to bring coherence to this bizarre sectional music, which to me can often appear rambling and disjointed.  I'm not sure whether I'm noticing anything objective about the performance, or whether I've become more tolerant of confusing music.

Such a shame he didn't record more Messiaen from the period after 1950.

[Mandryka]

Attention everyone. This one's worth hearing. Why? Because she understands colour! And she can use it to make the music sound coherent. Somehow.  There's some info on Jocy de Oliveira, who's a new name for me, on wiki.