Turangalila Symphony

[John Dupuche]

In an interview reported in The Age newspaper, 21-5-88, Olivier Messiaen
explained his choice of the title 'Turangalila Symphony'.
'The title? "A Sanskrit work I chose purely for its phonetic qualities.
It does have a meaning, though. 'Lila' means a game; a game of life and
death.'Turanga' means the passing of time, very quickly, like a
galloping horse. Together, the word means a hymn to life, to death, to
love, to joy, to time and its duration."