Album insights
The Latvian conductor Andris Nelsons collaborates with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and pianist Yuja Wang on their album featuring a stunning interpretation of Olivier Messiaen's Turangalîla Symphony. Recorded at the Symphony Hall in Boston in April 2024, the release commemorates the 75th anniversary of the work's premiere on December 2, 1949. Notably, it was also the Boston Symphony Orchestra, commissioned by their innovative music director Serge Koussevitsky, who originally performed the piece, allowing Messiaen full creative freedom. Koussevitsky instructed him, "Choose as many instruments as you wish, write a piece as long as you please, and in whatever style you desire." The outcome of this directive is the exceptional ten-movement symphony for a large orchestra—including a variety of percussion instruments—alongside solo piano and Ondes Martenot, an early electronic instrument. The album will be released digitally, with a physical version scheduled for 2025.