The Australian World Orchestra presents Messiaen’s Turangalîla–Symphonie

The Australian World Orchestra (AWO) is thrilled to present a spectacular one-off performance of Olivier Messiaen’s orchestral masterpiece Turangalîla-Symphonie at Hamer Hall. Internationally renowned conductor Simone Young AM returns to lead musicians from the AWO and the Australian National Academy of Music (ANAM) in this unmissable concert.

The two elite groups come together to collaborate on Messiaen’s 10-movement Turangalîla–Symphonie, an epic “love song” that is both a mammoth symphony, demanding the full commitment of over one hundred musicians, and a virtuosic piano concerto, performed by Timothy Young. Considered one of the most important pieces of the century, Turangalîla–Symphonie is scored for a huge orchestra with multiple percussionists, brass, winds, and the electronic ondes Martenot—an instrument familiar to fans of 1950s science fiction soundtracks—performed by Jacob Abela. The 2017 ensemble includes 48 Australian musicians from the world’s leading orchestras, including the Berlin and Vienna Philharmonic Orchestras, Chicago and London Symphony Orchestras, Gewandhaus, and the Australian state-based orchestras, together with 56 musicians from ANAM.