This week listeners should not pass up the chance to hear Olivier Messiaen’s Turangalîla-Symphonie, a surreal paean to cosmic love, both celestial and terrestrial. This visionary piece binds together Indian rhythmic patterns, bird song, Tristan and Isolde, and what Boulez termed “bordello music” in a vast orchestral palette, almost too large, too loud to absorb with the human ear. Christoph Eschenbach and the National Symphony Orchestra were the last to perform it in the area, back in 2011.

This weekend Marin Alsop and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra will tackle Messiaen’s complete Turangalîla, joined by pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet and Nathalie Forget on the otherworldly ondes martenot. Performances are Thursday 8 p.m. at Meyerhoff Symphony Hall and Sunday 3 p.m. in the Music Center at Strathmore. bsomusic.org; 410-783-8000

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