In late February 1943, Messiaen had been asked by the Director of the Paris Conservatoire, Claude Delvincourt, to write a test piece for that summer’s competition, and the result was the
Rondeau. Though written at the same time as
Visions de l’Amen, is it musically much less adventurous, and the demands here are largely technical; in other words, Messiaen produced the kind of piece that was expected of him. Among those to win premiers prix were Loriod herself and the composer-pianist Jean-Michel Damase.
from notes by Nigel Simeone © 2004
