Programme

• Messiaen – Eclairs sur l’Au-Delà

FREE pre-concert talk starts 45 minutes prior to the concert at ASB Theatre, Aotea Centre.

 

An immense mystery and awe lies at the centre of Messiaen’s hypnotic last work, Eclairs sur l’Au-Delà (Illuminations of the Beyond). Written in the final years of his life, this extended orchestral meditation contains a succession of sound pictures that contain an entire universe, from 48 different and precise bird songs to musical suggestions of great exploding stars. Scored for a vast orchestra of 128 players with extensive woodwind, brass and percussion sections, we bring together the NZSO and the NYO for the very first time in this landmark event.

Guiding such significant combined forces is the acclaimed conductor Sir Andrew Davis. A huge fan of Messiaen’s music, Davis is drawn to the composer’s transcendent washes of colour in a score that illuminates the world around us.