Political and economic capital of Germany and home of the famed Berlin Philharmonic, Berlin is high on the list of cities Tokyoites most wish to visit and explore, as I did recently. Berlin and Tokyo have much in common, certainly including the quantity and quality of the musical scene.

Both are large, prosperous cities boasting millions of people, scores of concert halls and opera theaters and dozens of musical events presented every day. Berlin and Tokyo are both capitals of nations ravaged by war a half- century ago, and since rebuilt through an identical benevolence to achieve similar miracles of social and economic prosperity. The German and Japanese peoples are distinguished by a strong work ethic and a devotion to precision engineering, timeliness and neatness.

The Berlin newspapers regale the music lover with a daily listing of concerts, recitals, operas, musicals, jazz, clubs and other entertainments; Tokyo's Pia may list just as many concerts and recitals, some 15 to 20 events a day. Tokyo's 10 major orchestras produce more concerts in total than the five in Berlin.

Music lovers in Tokyo would be astonished, though, by the number of musicals, jazz, clubs and other entertainments which flourish there. They would be even more astounded by the preponderance of opera: 800 performances annually by the three major opera companies alone, the Berlin Opera, Berlin State Opera and Berlin Comic Opera.

Berlin Philharmonic Hall provided the aesthetic inspiration and architectural supervision for the construction of Suntory Hall in Tokyo some 12 years ago, and the Berlin Philharmonic headlined the roster of eminent orchestras appearing here to open the new hall. It was to Berlin Philharmonic Hall therefore that I headed as I set forth to enjoy my evening out on the town.

Berliner Philharmoniker

Kent Nagano conducting in Berlin Philharmonic Hall -- "Turangalla" Symphony for piano, ondes-martenot and large orchestra (Olivier Messiaen, 1908-92)

The approach to Philharmonic Hall was the first indication that things musical would feel different in Berlin. Already the lighted, domed silhouette loomed into view a good 10 minutes' walk away from the hall. Suntory Hall, by contrast, is totally hidden from view until one finally arrives at Herbert van Karajan Plaza inside the Ark Hills complex. The wide boulevards, vast open spaces and commodious walkways of downtown Berlin are simply not to be found in the Japanese cityscape.

Even before entering the lobby, I was able to purchase German bread to take the pangs off any hunger. Beverages were on sale in the cavernous lobby area, as were books, recordings, Berlin Philharmonic souvenirs and musical paraphernalia.

Concert time (8 p.m.) did not begin with music, but with an academic lecture cum panel discussion on aspects of Messiaen's magnum opus, presented from the stage without a scrap of a note (all in fluent German), primarily by Nagano. The spacious concert hall was remarkably resonant; even without amplification the commentary was heard clearly.

After a full 30 minutes of this, 95 members of the Philharmonic solemnly took their places on stage to give their undivided attention to the 80-minute symphony.

The stage was ornamented with festoons of microphones as Deutsche Grammophon produced a recording of the Philharmonic playing the French work under the baton of California-born Nagano, 48. It was a canny decision. Nagano appears to have absorbed the French inclination from his lengthy tenure in Lyon, and brought it to his new German posting (with Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin from September). The performance was beautifully prepared. It was conducted with more imagination and held more interest than any previous rendition I have encountered.

The "Turangalla" Symphony is a slow-moving discourse on two Sanskrit themes, turanga, or passing time, and lla, or procreation (or destruction). Splashily colorful, it is an interminable hymn to the physical passions. There is general admiration, which I share, for the composer's uncommon harmonies and huge wedges of static orchestra sound. This is qualified though by inescapable reservations about his trenchant dogmatism. Whatever line he took, Messiaen's certainty was absolute. In this work, as in much of his output, the endless repetition is mind-numbing.

The scion of an intellectual French family, Messiaen was undeniably an outstanding musician and pedagogue. A mystic by nature, a Catholic by religion and one of the most original of 20th-century composers, he made use of an eclectic variety of materials. His large-scale compositions are laid out in massive blocks with little development or continuity. It is existential music, as Norman Lebrecht notes: I sound, therefore I am -- a statement which has to be taken on its own terms.

The "Turangalla" Symphony is not a work I can identify with personally. In this performance though I could almost feel emotion in the characterization. Nagano's efforts in the cause of the composition were super-heated. His gestique did not appear particularly smooth and polished, but he effected splendid control of the ensemble. The playing was absolutely faultless, impressive almost beyond belief.

Wandering out of Philharmonic Hall with the crowd, I could not help but reflect on the wonder of a performance so magnificently presented to explore every aspect of an uncommon work so far from the German tradition. In order to attract an audience in Tokyo, Japanese orchestras tend to present innumerable performances of the same tried and true popular works. In order to attract an audience in Berlin, the Berlin Philharmonic apparently seeks to present a definitive performance of whatever they perform.