Messiaen Century

Two days ago, on December 10th was Olivier Messiaen 100th birthday, or would have been, if he hadn’t passed away in 1992.
Messiaen began his musical career at the age of 11 when he started his studies at the Paris Conservatoire, and in 1931 was appointed organist at the church of La Trinite in Paris - a position which he held till his death.
Many people have written about him in the last couple of days so instead of adding my two cents - her is a compilation of links to different articles about him and his work:

Jessica Duchan posted a YouTube video of the man himself discussing one of his greatest influences Debussy’s Pelleas et Melisande, with his class at the Paris Conservatoire.

Soho the Dog informs us of the correct pronunciation of the name Messian, and posted on of his favorite Messiaen pieces “Pièce pour le Tombeau de Paul Dukas,” from 1936. (unfortunately I was unable to get it to play for me. maybe you will have better luck.

On An Overgrown Path went to Avignon to search for the birthplace of  Messiaen, with no luck however (seems that his birthplace has been redeveloped, unfortunately, so no photo for us.)