Koussevitzky as Patron: The Koussevitzky Music Foundation and Commissioning Messiaen’s Turangalîla-Symphonie
Ever the entrepreneur in seeking ways to support and promote living composers, Serge Koussevitzky established the Koussevitzky Music Foundation to honor his beloved wife Natalie when she passed away in 1942, ensuring a legacy that continues to support new works till this day. One work that the foundation commissioned was Olivier Messiaen's Turangalîla-Symphonie, commissioned in 1945, and premiered by the Boston Symphony Orchestra on December 2, 1949 with Leonard Bernstein conducting.
Preparing for the Premiere
The World Premiere: 1949
Leonard Bernstein Conducts a BSO Rehearsal in November 1949 to Prepare for the Premiere of Messiaen's Turangalîla-Symphonie
Listen: Excerpt from a rehearsal of Messiaen's Turangalila with the BSO by Leonard Bernstein, November 28, 1949
Seiji Ozawa discusses Turangalîla with Michael Tilson Thomas
In 1970, then BSO Associate Conductor Michael Tilson Thomas interviewed an up-and-coming Seiji Ozawa, and the conversation turned to Messiaen and Ozawa's numerous performances of the difficult Turangalîla, even before he became the BSO's Music Director three years later in 1973.