Jon Lewis wrote:

>Hakan Austbo's got a new disc of Messiaen stuff coming out this winter
>from Naxos.  Not sure what'll be on it.

Actually, there are NOW three separate issues available from him:

1.  Vingt Regards sur l'Enfant Jesus (two disc set)
2.  Catalogue d'Oiseaux (three disc set)
3.  Piano Music, Vol. 3: Preludes / Four Rhythmic Studies / Canteyodjaya

You might be referring to this third issue. A brief description of these
pieces may be asked for:

The preludes are a set of very early pieces, actually quite in debt to
Debussy's work (I'm teasing Jon I suppose).  They sort of established
Messiaen's name in the field of piano music.  Nonetheless they are definite
Messiaen in e.g.  their use of the harmonic modes of limited transposition.
Actually, Debussy's main harmony (whole-tone-scale) is but one specific
example of these modes.  The rest of the CD is altogether different "cup
of tea".  The four rythmic studies, especially de "Modes des valeurs et des
intensites" was what made the angry young men in the late fourties (Boulez,
Stockhausen et al.) very excited.  It was the first piece in which an
attempt was made to "organise" timbre and duration in a similar way as
pitch had been in Schoenberg's theories, although it may be said that
others (notably Webern) may have done so unconsiously earlier as well.
Significantly enough Messiaen himself never used this serialism in a strict
manner and he thought of these pieces as "passing incidents", playing them
down with respect to the rest of his oeuvre.  As he presently went on in
different directions he was really heavily criticised by the same angry
young men mentioned above, Boulez calling Turangalila music "coming from a
brothel".  (Not that I have ever been in one, but I would certainly be
amazed if they would play Turangalila there, but this is beside the point).
Finally the Canteyodjaya can be described as a transitional piece between
the rigidity of the Four Rythmic Studies and the "bird"-music that followed
some years later (like Catalogue d'oiseaux).

As for the playing on the CD, it is up to the standard we are accustomed to
from Austbo with a very well defined recorded sound.  I am only crossing my
fingers and hoping that Naxos will take Austbo to meet, say, Antoni Wit and
record some of Messiaen's work for piano and orchestra as well.

"Jos Janssen" <[log in to unmask]>