Alfred Schlee (1901-1999) was a legend in the world of music publishing – one of the leading lights of Universal Edition in Vienna, and a loyal supporter of Messiaen’s music. Messiaen and Yvonne Loriod gave house concerts at Universal Edition’s offices in 1946 and 1947, and in the 1950s, Universal Edition published two important pieces by Messiaen:
Cantéyodjayâ and
Oiseaux exotiques – both thanks to Dr Schlee’s enthusiasm. When Dr Schlee celebrated his ninetieth birthday with a concert in Vienna on 18 November 1991, twenty distinguished composers wrote pieces for a concert. Messiaen, in the last year of his life, was too frail to attend; but he was one of the distinguished composers – along with Boulez, Berio, Kurtág and others – who wrote a work celebrating the occasion. The result was the
Pièce for piano and string quartet, in which jagged chords and more lyrical phrases alternate with the rapid song of one of Messiaen’s favourite birds, the Garden Warbler.
from notes by Nigel Simeone © 2008