# Messiaen's piano works................



## Itullian

Which are your favorite works and who's your favorite
performer?


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## brotagonist

Visions de l'Amen (Loriod/Messiaen)
Catalogue d'Oiseaux (Peter Hill)
Vingt Regards sur l'Enfant Jésus (Loriod)

These are the only ones I have collected. I have probably heard a few of the others a time or two, but I can barely even think of any others (aside from the organ works, of course). Again, the performances noted are the ones I have purchased. I have not heard others yet.


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## Vaneyes

I had Hewitt (Hyperion) for a brief period. The music didn't register with me. :tiphat:


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## Blancrocher

I listen to sequences of pieces from the Vingt Regards fairly frequently, with Aimard's version being my favorite of the 4 that I've heard. I listen to Messiaen's other solo instrumental works comparatively rarely, though I like them too.


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## User in F minor

I'm most partial to "Catalogue d'oiseaux". There was a time when I would zone out to it several times a week. IMO it's _the_ finest showcase of Messiaen's ear for sonority, it all just beggars belief. Ugorski's recording is my favorite, but Loriod isn't far behind.

One of my favorite concert memories is hearing "Vingt régards" in a candlelit church crypt. I've yet to hear a disappointing recording of it although I'm not very picky. I think the recording I own is Loriod's but I can't even remember... (edit: there used to be a BADASS set of rather lo-fi videos on Youtube where some guy bangs through the entire thing on an upright piano in what looks like an attic study. I need to see if it's still there and post a link if it it.)

"Visions de l'Amen" is what got me into classical but I've rather neglected it. I remember liking the Argerich/Rabinovich recording, the Labeques' not as much.


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## PetrB

I like Roger Muraro, having only heard some of his "Vingt Regards," -- he has the technique necessary while his tone is far less strident or brittle than Aimard's.


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## starthrower

I like Aimard's DG recording, Hommage A Messiaen. I recently picked up his recording of Vingt Regards... but it hasn't really grabbed me yet.


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## ptr

Some of my favourites:

Catalogue d'oiseaux - Anatol Ugorski @ DG
Preludes and Vingt Regards sur l'Enfant-Jesus - P-L Aimard @ DG/TelDec
Visions de l'Amen - John Ogdon & Brenda Lucas @ Explore (ARGO/Decca)
Preludes - Angela Hewitt @ Hyperion

I think that Yvonne Loriod often is fine in her Erato (Warner) recordings, I have not immersed myself in Roger Muraro as dilivered in DG complete box (also Accord), but the little I have compared he seems slightly softer the fx Aimard. I often find Austbø (Naxos/Brilliant) slightly sloppy (for the lack of a better word) or rushed, but if I had not head Aimard's ultra precision this might not have been an issue! My first contact with Messiaen's piano music was Carl-Axel Dominique on Bis, his interpretations are fine with a slightly jazzy touch, which not seldom brings an interesting dimension to this music!

/ptr


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## millionrainbows

I have the complete piano works by* Peter Hill,* and I like all the *Yvonne Loriod *issues. I have a few odds and ends by other players. Worthy of note is the bird catalogue by *Ugorski.* This guy memorized the whole thing, and he seems to have a very visceral, intuitive grasp of it, which is very satisfying to listen to (I just noticed that *User in F minor s*hares my regard for Ugorski).

I like the early works, such as the *Preludes *andthe* Modes of Intensity.* Peter Hill does these on a single disc.

Concerning Austbø, he also does Harawi with a soprano who is very uneven. The recording as a whole falls short. This disappointed me, because he had done such a good job on Peter Schatt's piano works.


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## Mandryka

brotagonist said:


> Visions de l'Amen (Loriod/Messiaen)
> Catalogue d'Oiseaux (Peter Hill)
> Vingt Regards sur l'Enfant Jésus (Loriod)
> 
> These are the only ones I have collected. I have probably heard a few of the others a time or two, but I can barely even think of any others (aside from the organ works, of course). Again, the performances noted are the ones I have purchased. I have not heard others yet.


Does Peter Hill play Messiaen in the brutalist modernist way that Loriod does? I've never heard him play, I like Loriod's style. You prefer Peter Hill's Catalogue d'Oiseaux to Loriod's, or have you not heard the latter? And you prefer Loriod to Hill in the 20 Regards?

Naxos have deleted Hill's recordings I think.

Does Hill make the Preludes sound modern, millionrainbows? Loriod's recording of them has been recently released.

Who do you guys enjoy for the Etudes?

One pianist I've started to enjoy in the 20 Regards is Batagov.


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## millionrainbows

Mandryka said:


> Does Peter Hill play Messiaen in the brutalist modernist way that Loriod does? I've never heard him play, I like Loriod's style. You prefer Peter Hill's Catalogue d'Oiseaux to Loriod's, or have you not heard the latter? And you prefer Loriod to Hill in the 20 Regards?
> 
> Naxos have deleted Hill's recordings I think.
> 
> Does Hill make the Preludes sound modern, millionrainbows? Loriod's recording of them has been recently released.
> 
> Who do you guys enjoy for the Etudes?
> 
> One pianist I've started to enjoy in the 20 Regards is Batagov.


Peter Hill plays then well, and as the pieces I mentioned are modern by nature, then yes, they sound modern, and additionally, Peter Hill is more reserved than Loriod. (Because he's British?). I do prefer Loriod on the Vingt, it seems to thrive on that drama she provides.


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## Mandryka

Of the Loriod 20 regards on spotify, the one here is the one I play the most often -- can someone identify the date of the recording?














I have had a chance to hear Hill's Catalogue d'Oiseaux Bks 1-3 now and I am very impressed, I'm tempted to buy the rest. I'm very interested in Messiaen's piano music at the moment, so any suggestions much appreciated,


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## Guest

I got this one in the mail today and love it!










Ugorski's "Catalogue d'oiseaux" is amazing, too.


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## Mandryka

Kontrapunctus said:


> I got this one in the mail today and love it!
> 
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> 
> Ugorski's "Catalogue d'oiseaux" is amazing, too.


Yes I enjoyed both the Ugorski and the Bellheim.


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