Ozawa’s premiere recording of the Turangalila-symphonie stands the test of time very well and makes a timely reappearance on CD in the West (it’s always been available in Japan). Other, more recent performances offer a touch more excitement in the frenetic “Joy of the Blood of the Stars” and “Finale”, and also give more prominence to the ondes martinot part, but with generally excellent playing from the Toronto Symphony and Yvonne Loriod’s best-ever attack on the important piano part, this performance still commands serious respect. Marek Janowski’s shapely and lively accounts of Roussel’s Third and Fourth Symphonies suffer only from a seriously bass-shy recording, while Charles Munch’s mono Roussel Bacchus et Ariane Suite No. 2 still sounds marvelous, though you can get it in stereo from French Accord (but without the BSO, of course). I’m not sure why RCA France decided to pair Messiaen with Roussel when Tashi’s Quartet for the End of Time or Peter Serkin’s Vingt Regards were readily to hand, but with respect to the performances themselves there’s little to complain about.
