The composer and critic Virgil Thomson described Olivier Messiaen鈥檚 music as 鈥榗onvulsive, ecstatic, cataclysmic, terrifying and unreal鈥�. All converge in the most vibrant and unignorable symphony of the 20th century: Messiaen鈥檚 Turangali虃la Symphony. Nicholas Collon and the 麻豆社 Philharmonic perform a work that opens up the heavens even as it brings down the house, after the tantalising prospect of a world premiere by Anna Clyne. The Gorgeous Nothings, written specially for the Proms, is the composer鈥檚 response to the 鈥榮pellbinding wordsmithery鈥� of American poet Emily Dickinson, scored for orchestra, amplified voices and real-time electronic processing.

Broadcast live on 麻豆社 Radio 3

Broadcast on 麻豆社 Four and 麻豆社 iPlayer this season

Image: The Swingles