Imagine an explosion of love on a cosmic scale. Mix in 1940s film score, a pounding rhythmic workout and a Javanese gamelan, all washed in blissful impressionist colours. Now add a huge orchestra, a world-class pianist and a vintage electronic instrument straight out of science fiction…and you’re still not even half-way to imagining Messiaen’s mind-boggling Turangalîla Symphony.
66 years after Leonard Bernstein conducted the premiere, it still sounds like nothing on earth. Juanjo Mena, pianist Steven Osborne and the full Â鶹ԼÅÄ Philharmonic turn the volume up to 11 – and introduce the closest thing to a British equivalent: the astonishing Three Mantras by Manchester composer John Foulds. Think of all the best bits of Holst’s The Planets – and then double them!
Preview, 6.30pm: The Â鶹ԼÅÄ Philharmonic’s General Manager, Simon Webb, talks about 2015/2016 concert season and the themes it explores.