Mkč26

MKČ26: Festival Closing | Roger Muraro performs Messiaen’s “Catalogue d’oiseaux”

On the closing night of the 14th International M. K. Čiurlionis Music Festival’s Vilnius season, an exceptional event awaits listeners: audience favorite and legendary French pianist Roger Muraro, whose 2024 recital at the Lithuanian National Philharmonic was hailed by critics as the event of the year, will perform the complete “Catalogue d’oiseaux” (“Catalogue of the Birds”) – a monumental fresco of birds and landscapes for piano by Olivier Messiaen.

Due to its scope and complexity, this 13-part cycle, lasting nearly three hours, is one of the rarest 20th-century piano programs performed live in the world, and it is performed in Lithuania only on exceptional occasions. This makes the closing concert of the International M. K. Čiurlionis Music Festival even more special.

“Catalogue d’oiseaux” is a soundscape breathing with the voices of 77 birds. O. Messiaen, a passionate ornithologist, meticulously transcribed their songs in their natural environment and believed that music was born precisely in the voices of birds. The composer, who “heard” colors in harmonies, created not only visions of sound but also of light, shadows, and landscapes on the piano.

Roger Muraro is one of the world’s most prominent interpreters of O. Messiaen’s music. Having studied at the Paris Conservatory with Yvonne Loriod – the composer’s wife, muse, and the first performer of “Catalogue d’oiseaux” – he inherited the authentic tradition of performing this music.

It is no coincidence that the composer himself once said of Muraro: “Roger Muraro is an exceptional performer of my music – he understands it not only technically but also spiritually.”

And after the pianist performed the cycle “Vingt regards sur l’enfant-Jésus,” O. Messiaen added: “(I admire) his dazzling technique, his mastery, his sonic colors, his emotion, and, I dare say, his faith!..."

R. Muraro’s 2001 recording of the complete cycle of O. Messiaen’s piano works is still considered a benchmark and is called by critics an “unparalleled artistic feat,” in which stunning technique merges with an intimate, poetic understanding of the music. Performing this music requires not only phenomenal technique but also immense concentration, endurance, and imagination – qualities for which Muraro is famous worldwide.

The final evening of the festival will be a unique opportunity not only to enjoy R. Muraro’s exceptional mastery but also to hear the artistic vision of the entire “Catalogue d’oiseaux” by one of the most prominent interpreters of O. Messiaen’s work.