COMPOSERS: Messiaen
LABELS: DG
WORKS: Catalogue d’oiseaux; La fauvette des jardins
PERFORMER: Anatol Ugorski (piano)
CATALOGUE NO: 439 214-2 DDD
Messiaen’s seven-volume Catalogue d’oiseaux was completed in 1958, its sequel, La fauvette des jardins, 12 years later. Together they form a highly evocative and detailed showcase for the birdsong which so preoccupied him. Ugorski has a reputation for combining breathtaking virtuosity with interpretative quirkiness. There’s no denying the former here, nor at times the latter, but his view of these works is mostly valid. Wadham Sutton
Messiaen: Catalogue d'oiseaux; La fauvette des jardins
Messiaen’s seven-volume Catalogue d’oiseaux was completed in 1958, its sequel, La fauvette des jardins, 12 years later. Together they form a highly evocative and detailed showcase for the birdsong which so preoccupied him. Ugorski has a reputation for combining breathtaking virtuosity with interpretative quirkiness. There’s no denying the former here, nor at times the latter, but his view of these works is mostly valid. Wadham Sutton
Published: January 20, 2012 at 2:34 pm