This was as good a place to start as any. Anybody who is interested in learning about the music of Olivier Messiaen needs to explore his passions - the infinite expanses of nature, the purity of birdsong, the glow of religious certainty - and all of them are to found in Des canyons aux étoiles , a coruscating orchestral score from the 1970s.

The work has lent its title ("From the Canyons to the Stars") to the Southbank Centre's year-long festival. To mark Messiaen's centenary there will be nearly 50 events, mostly clustered in February and October, in a programme that includes much of the organ music and piano recitals as well as the main orchestral works. It is claimed to be the most expansive survey anywhere in his centenary year.