Proms 2015 Prom 38: Messiaen – Turangalîla Symphony

Hindu philosophy is the guiding thread through this Prom of music by one of the 20th century’s undisputed masters and one of its neglected mavericks. Messiaen’s Turangalîla Symphony translates the ‘curious, exquisite, unexpected melodic contours’ of the Hindu tradition for Western ears. John Foulds’s music was heavily influenced by his spiritual fascination with India; his style shifts in his Three Mantras from the rhythmic violence of Stravinsky to meditative loveliness and the sleek modernism of Ravel.