Yvonne Loriod (1924-2010)

French pianist Yvonne Loriod, widow of composer Olivier Messiaen and a leading advocate of music by Messiaen and other mid- and late-20th century composers, died On May 17.

Loriod was "the catalyst for the piano taking center stage" in Messiaen's creative output, beginning with "Vingt regards sur l’enfant-Jésus" (1944), Christopher Dingle writes in an obituary for BBC Music Magazine:

http://www.bbcmusicmagazine.com/news/yvonne-loriod-dies-aged-86

A longer obituary by Paul Griffiths in The New York Times:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/19/arts/music/19loriod.html?ref=music

An appreciation by The Guardian's Tom Service:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/tomserviceblog/2010/may/18/yvonne-loriod