Messiaen: Turangalila Symphony

By Herbert Kupferberg

(Ozawa, Toronto Symphony; RCA Victor LSC-7051). The ten movements of Messiaen’s excursion into sound are a bit wearying at times, but the sheer interplay of his exotic sounds and harmonies is often startlingly beautiful. Seiji Ozawa is attuned to Messiaen’s score, and the Toronto Symphony is also quite responsive. Toru Takemitsu’s November Steps fills the fourth side of the two-record album.