Ralph van Raat

In the musical landscape of the twentieth century, Olivier Messiaen is both a point of intersection and an island. As an inspiring tutor, he made more of a mark on post-war composition than anyone, but at the same time he does not allow his music to be classified as part of any specific avant-garde movement. Messiaen simply sounds like Messiaen. His musical language is a highly unique mix of medieval composition techniques, Indian rhythms, symmetrical scales and birdsong. And above all of colour, because as a synaesthetic, Messiaen would see crazily detailed colour combinations in front of him when he heard sounds. In this recital, Ralph van Raat playfully provides musical illustrations of all the above facets. This Dutch pianist also takes an in-depth look at the monumental 'Turangalîla Symphony', Messiaen's orchestral ode to love, which Raat will perform alongside deFilharmonie on 28 November 2013.