Olivier Messiaen - Oiseaux exotiques (1955)

Composer: Olivier Eugène Charles Prosper Messiaen (December 10, 1908 – April 27, 1992)
Orchestra: Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra conducted by Riccardo Chailly
Pianist: Jean-Yves Thibaudet

Score is in C and written at octave.

I saw this performed at the New England Conservatory; it was a wonderful experience.

Score available from Universal Edition

[oscargill]

The pianists in recordings of Messiaen pieces never cease to amaze me

[Dodecatone]

This is my favorite Messiaen piece at the moment. Intensely vivid orchestration for winds (and a driving piano part!), faithful ornithological reminiscences, exhilarating rhythms. Magical stuff.

[acidgrizz]

I discovered Messiaen through this piece. Beautiful and colorful.

[fredericfrancoischopin]

This is really awesome. One of the Most colorful piece I've heard

[suuri_toukeigaku_channel]

This piece is non-tonal music but still has rhythm so it seems comfortable for beginners of contemporary music to listen especially after 4:36. Tons of fun. I love this.

[yagiz]

One of my favorite pieces by Messiaen, it is just so colorful and catchy!

[brianwhitehead]

Love this piece. I performed it (trumpet part) in a student performance at Sheffield university, conducted by the world-renowned Messiaen expert Peter Hill. Great fun to rehearse and perform

[r_in_space]

This piece REALLY sounds like exotic birds. It shows the skill of the composer in imagining and choosing the right notes to make it sound like tge real thing. And the piece still has some coherent rithym and phrase here and there, so that's cool.

[IBarryx]

My father used to say that it sounded like Messiaen was strangling the birds! :) I grew up with this piece so am keen on it.

[UrielCopy]

Completely brilliant!! Love Thibaudet, he is an awesome pianist! He is also an amazing Kachaturian-interpreter.

[gerardbegni]

A gorgeous piece for piano and orchestra.

[pmarq]

This is an awesome recording of this piece!

[trob-o-matic]

Best interpretation I've heard of this piece, ever!

[mirandac]

Crazy! I remember the first time I ever heard this, or even heard _of_ it: it was the EIC and Boulez in Frankfurt. I could not believe my eyes (ears). I'll never forget that.

[wandahelenagorecka-fichten]

Olivier Messiaen bardzo interesujący francuski kompozytor intelektualista który utworzył własną oryginalną skalę dźwięków

[andywjackson]

🎶🤸🎶a fabulous thanks enjoyed so much, thank you for sharing this fabulous music 🍀☯️🍀

[gianmarcopetruccipercussion]

Xilo Extract:
4 2:25
6 3:00 (audition's one)
9 4:11
10 4:30
25 10:55
32 12:48

[evgenikostitsyn]

Messiaen's birds sing here together in the same tempo which never happens in real life. Later he tried to notate birds in different tempi without bar lines in Saint François d'Assise (second act, sixth scene).

[sharifmansour]

Every time I try to listen to Messiaen, I keep envisioning scenes from The Shining.

[felixdeckers]

What do you mean with "written at octave"