Search - Michael George, Olivier Messiaen, Reinbert de Leeuw :: Olivier Messiaen: Oiseaux Exotiques; Sept Haïkaï; Couleurs De La Cité Céleste; Un Vitrail Et Des Oiseaux; etc.

Reinbert de Leeuw and his crackerjack musicians negotiate these difficult scores with dazzling aplomb, not to mention pianist Peter Donohoe's razor-sharp timbre and rhythmic suppleness. The bright, close-up recording captures the full gamut of Messiaen's intricate instrumentation with amazing clarity. These words, however, apply less to Et expecto. Here the recorded balances are poor and the playing is surprisingly slack in sections. Moreover, it's the sole work on the set's second disc, and you can't purchase disc one without the other. But those who respond to this composer's ecstatic, colorful sound-world will find much to admire here. --Jed Distler