Preludes pour piano

Piano Solo

By Olivier Messiaen

I have received my new copy of these great Preludes, and frankly I couldn't be more disappointed. In all these years I can't believe Durand has not improved the quality of their edition (only available, alas). Not just that: the blurred types indicate they have not modified their...

printing methods and probably used the same masters as nearly 100 years ago. This is not only a shame, it's offensive to people taking great pains learning this difficult music. I am writing to Durand next, but want to warn potential candid buyers like me against this edition. Like I said before, I wish Henle would get rights to publish it. We would all be much the better off.

My sole objection is about the print quality of Durand's edition. Certainly not up to the complexity of this music. The notes are somewhat blurred, difficult to read (in music of this difficulty!). I really hope this one has improved on my version, which is terrible. I wish Henle...

would edit Messiaen's music!

Don't know why these are not part of standard repertoire. Each is just gorgeous, with lush dense sounds, complex rhythms, imaginative use of piano's registers. As Ryan has noted, they are by and large based on the octatonic collections, which crop up in Messaien's own "modes of...

limited transposition." These pieces were written to show what could be done with these new scales. Most are advanced, but I (La Colombe), IV (Instants defunts) and VII (Pleinte Calme), I would rate as intermediate, since I have heard young teens play these numbers quite well. VI ([the laconic] Cloches c'angoisse et larme d'adieu) is among the most difficult in the set, quite gut-wrenching in its anguished discordance, and resolves its built-up tension into a long and serene elegiac release. The best! Try them out. My background is 20 year piano lessons, and graduade degrees in theory.

Preludes pour piano is a great addition to any pianist's music library.

These preludes are early Messiaen works extending the style of Debussy and Ravel. They use octatonic and other advanced harmonic languages, but they are somewhat impressionistic conceptually. These merit more attention from serious pianists.