MESSIAEN CENTENARY
“The greatest religious composer since Bach.”
–Alex Ross, The New Yorker
December marks 100 years since the birth of the great French composer Olivier Messiaen, whose body of work is music of enormous power and spirit, worthy of consideration in its multifaceted splendor. The CMA joins the world in a centenary celebration of this musical titan, whose catalogue both built on and expanded traditions of Western composition. Mystic, visionary, lover of birdsong, deeply religious, attuned to Eastern musics—all of this formed the man whose sound is immediately distinctive. Several programs highlight aspects of the music of Messiaen, whom noted critic Paul Griffiths called “the first great composer whose works exist entirely after, and to a large degree apart from, the great Western tradition.”
Add-on Gallery Concert:
"Quatuor pour la Fin du Temps"
Wednesday, December 3, 2008, 7:30
Saturday, December 6, 2008, 3:00
Cleveland Museum of Art
“Vingt Regards sur l’Enfant-Jesus”
Christopher Taylor, piano
Wednesday, December 10, 2008, 7:30
Old Stone Church
“Des Canyons aux Etoiles”
Oberlin Contemporary Music Ensemble
Saturday, December 13, 2008, 7:30
Pilgrim Congregational Church
“La Nativité du Seigneur”
Sunday, January 4, 2009, 2:00
St. Paul’s Episcopal Church
FILM
The Crystal Liturgy: Olivier Messiaen
Sunday, December 7, 2008, 1:30
Cleveland Museum of Art, Lecture Hall