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The only symphony from the pen of the visionary French composer Olivier Messiaen<\/a><\/strong> (1908\u20131992), the\u00a0Turangal\u00eela-Symphonie<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0was commissioned is a hugely sensuous, exuberant work, in ten movements and lasting some 80 minutes. A kind of sonic journey through love, joy, time and eternity, it features a heady mix of musical forms and schools: Modernism, surrealism, exoticism and, in its more emotional moments, something akin to peak\u00a0Romanticism<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p> The\u00a0Turangal\u00eela-Symphonie<\/em>\u00a0is also known for its use of the extraordinary\u00a0ondes Martenot<\/a><\/strong>, one of classical music’s most deliciously idiosyncratic instruments. Here’s a brief sample of the instrument’s ghostly sound:<\/p> Messiaen composed the work between in 1946 and 1948. It was a commission from conductor\u00a0Serge Koussevitzky<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0for the\u00a0Boston Symphony Orchestra, one of America’s famous ‘Big Five<\/a><\/strong>‘ orchestras.\u00a0<\/p> The premiere of the work was conducted not by Koussevitzky, however. He was unwell at the time, so the great Leonard Bernstein<\/a><\/strong> who led the Boston Symphony in a performance on 2 December 1949. He then conducted the work’s New York premiere eight days later on 10 December. It wasn’t quite in Bernstein’s wheelhouse – he was, after all, better known for his performances of Wagner<\/a><\/strong>, Beethoven<\/a><\/strong>, Schumann<\/a><\/strong> and others – and he never again conducted the Turangal\u00eela-Symphonie. \u00a0<\/p>When was the Turangal\u00eela-Symphonie composed?<\/h2>