Well,

I know this work, am very fascinated by it and I'd like to get it...

http://www.boosey.com/shop/prod/Messiaen-Olivier-Turangalila-Symphony-Study-Score/607527

152 GBP, so around 250 $. For the study score! And there's another version at 140 GBP more or less. What a break, huh?

I tried SMP (not there), amazon.com and amazon.co.uk (not there) and google. Nothing but the above link for me...

Only one word comes to mind when looking at such a price tag for a study score! I can't even check what the full score looks like or costs...

Sorry for the rant... Carry on I guess...

This is the problem with copyright law as it is. It is a bane of the discovery, study and enjoyment of new music.

I can get it for free from my library! (temporarily)

I totally understand.

Years ago, a friend of mine who was smitten with the piece purchased the study score (forgot what he paid), and I borrowed it to follow along with the recording. Fascinating!

Alas, since that person is now 8 time zones away, borrowing his score is not an option. All the pity, as Seattle Symphony is doing this marvelously over-the-top extravaganza later this month. (Wouldn't miss it for anything.)

I have a copy of the first version, which I picked up used at a book store a while ago. It is 428 pages long, so the price per page is not bad, as new music goes.

BDB: As a publisher I know VERY well how much a 428 score would cost to print... and the price tag is inexcusable!

debrucey: I do understand both sides of this coin (being a publisher and a composer myself). I do think that such price tags are destroying anything beautiful in contemporary music, and I would accept the loss of copyrights a few years after the death of a composer, not 70! But at the same time I do see the point in publishers wanting to retain copyrights, so that they can put in their money and faith to older composers... It seems to make sense.

Arghhh: I can also get it from my library and back in the UK I could get it for weeks and weeks and I could also photocopy it. But I never did that and never would do that! Perhaps many many moons ago but not anymore!

A simple single-sheet 3-page popular song can cost $4 these days, even it is expected to sell tens of thousands of copies. Compared to that, the Messiaen is a bargain.

They don't show that a full score for Turangalila is even available, but there's a pocket score for a mere $200. On the other hand, for his opera Saint Francis of Assisi, they only have the full score available - for around $3,150.

which I picked up used at a book store a while ago.

My guess is that it is but you have to go through their rental services (or rather those of Durand...) and it's hugely costly.

Are you saying that you wouldn't consider getting it from a library, even without the intent to copy it? Hope people didn't think I was implying that copying it would be ok!

Oh no... I'm saying that I wouldn't copy it, that's all! I have borrowed tons of books from my uni library, when I was a student...

I found it available here at Flute de Pan.

Nigel: That's cheaper (plus it mentions 'conducteur Partition' which makes me wonder if it's the full score. It's still rather pricey, but anyhow it's less than 100 GBP now, which seems to make a tiny bit more sense.

There's what appears to be the same thing at di-arezzo, this time marked as a pocket score. I'm wondering just how big it is because I have a Ravel score by Durand (the String Quartet) that's 270x185mm in that same blue-style cover.

There's also another shop a few doors down that has a lot of scores - Arioso. They usually give a discount to SACEM members. di-arezzo has various discount codes too.

So are you going to spring for it? If the score is that important to you, why not?

Put into account the Greek economy at the moment and you can realize my reply to that!

Honestly though, if things were a tiny bit better right now I'd spring for it. Waiting for the copyrights to expire seem silly at best!

Have you looked at Amazon and eBay?

Amazon yes, ebay no... :-/ I already mentioned amazon (both com and co.uk)... I'll take a look at ebay though. It's a good idea! Thanks!