Messiaen: Catalogue d’oiseaux, I-42

Pierre-Laurent Aimard knows more about Messiaen than most pianists. He studied piano with Messiaen’s wife, Yvonne Loriod, took first prize in the International Olivier Messiaen Competition in 1973, and plays a vast amount of the master’s works. He approaches this score with total engagement, not only bringing to life the 13 birds portrayed throughout the work’s seven books, but also their native habitats. Aimard’s pianism is magnificent, technically immaculate, and rich with understanding. This is beautifully recorded too.