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THE USA WAS among the first countries outside France to recognise Messiaen 's originality, and American organisations supported his work with important commissions from the 1940s until the very end of his life.' From 1949 onwards Messiaen visited the country on a number of occasions, for performances of his music, for teaching, and for field trips to collect birdsongs. The breathtaking landscapes of Utah and Colorado were a direct inspiration for one of his major works, Des Canyons aux étoiles... (also an American commission), as were the birds of America for several others, starting with Oiseaux exotiques. Messiaen taught at Tanglewood for two summers (1949 and 1975), and he had a number of American pupils in his class at the Paris Conservatoire.2
In short, his links with the country were strong, and before his first visit he was well acquainted with several aspects of American culture. He had been the pianist in the first performances anywhere of five songs by Charles Ives (at one of the concerts of La Spirale on 6 March 1936), and certainly encountered other music by American composers in the 1930s and 40s; but it is also possible that Messiaen 's father, Pierre, introduced him to American poetry. Pierre published several translations of British and American classics, including Walt Whitman: choix de poèmes (Paris: Aubier, Éditions Montaigne, 1951), a substantial anthology which included a 50page introduction to the poet and his work.1
Curiously, Pierre's famous musical son knew barely a word of English - the few known examples of his attempts at the language in writing are likely to raise a smile.4 Messiaen was also familiar with some American films. In 1986 the composer coached Sigune van Osten in Harawi. To encourage her to understand how he wanted the opening cry of 'Répétition planétaire ' to sound, Messiaen asked van Osten if she knew the Tarzan films starring Johnny Weissmuller - illustrating this with his own imitation of a 'Tarzan yell'.5
Les Offrandes oubliées: Boston 1936
This article will focus on some of the first performances of Messiaen 's music in the USA, during the years 1936- 1950, and in particular on Serge Koussevitzky 's advocacy of the composer. The earliest performance of any Messiaen orchestral work outside France took place...