Supersize Polyphony

One of the pinnacles of nineteenth-century pianism, Modest Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition broke new frontiers in its writing for the piano through its use of ringing bell-like sonorities, dramatic juxtaposition of registers and dynamics, its approach to resonance, percussive octaves and rapid hand-alternations, and sheer grandeur of sound.

Mussorgsky's masterpiece is coupled here with works by Ravel and Messiaen - composers who were indebted to the innovations of their Russian predecessor.

Miroirs comprises a set of five pieces evoking contrasting moods and pianistic characters. Far from being Impressionist - a movement with which Ravel had little real affiliation -the 'Mirrors' of the title suggests more Symbolist associations in that the individual pieces explore ambiguities between supposed reality and 'reflected' simulation.

An unusually non-descriptive work for Messiaen, without religious references or bird- song, Cantéyodjayâ is about musical process and is constructed as a mosaic-like collage in which a jaunty rhythmic refrain is contrasted with a multiplicity of contrasting ideas, many of which are re-workings from his gargantuan Turangalîla-Symphonie.