Olivier Messiaen / The Mystery of Edwin Drood

On this day in classical music: Olivier Messiaen’s gargantuan orchestral work, the “Turangalila-Symphonie,” was given its premiere by Leonard Bernstein and the Boston Symphony in 1949. Commissioned by Serge Koussevitzky for the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the 10-movement composition took more than two years to complete. Its title is derived from the Sanskrit words turanga (time) and lila (love, but also the opposing forces of life and death). With a running time of approximately one hour and 20 minutes, the “Turangalia-Symphonie” was scored for a very large orchestra, with the addition of a piano, the electronic ondes Martenot, celeste and a large battery of percussion instruments. Listen to the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain perform the fifth movement of “Turangalila,” titled “Joy of the Blood of the Stars” at a 2001 London Proms concert. Andrew Davis conducts. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tv67YkOWJNA

On this day in the musical theatre: Rupert Holmes’ “The Mystery of Edwin Drood” opened on Broadway in 1985. Based on the novel by Charles Dickens, “Drood” followed the intertwining stories of a British theatrical troupe and the mysterious disappearance of the title character. Left incomplete at the time of Dickens’ death, “Drood” left readers guessing about the identity of the murderer. Holmes devised the clever ploy of having the audience vote on which character committed the murder. He wrote multiple endings for the musical which changed according to the audience’s choice. “Drood” won five Tony Awards, including one as best musical. A revival of the show opened earlier this month. Watch George Rose, Betty Buckley and Cleo Laine perform “There You Are” and “Don’t Quit While You’re Ahead” on the 1986 Tony Awards broadcast. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=faixPCip_AU

Musical musings: No matter how you slice it, “Turangalila” is not an easy listen. It is long, loud and lacks any clear narrative, instead relying on four themes that recur throughout. Messiaen composed deliberately, taking great care to assemble themes in ways that were, to him, perfectly logical. The effect however, particularly for someone who is not familiar with Messiaen’s other works, is one of an ADHD child unable to stay focused long enough to complete a thought. – from a set of program notes  

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