梅西安對調性、和聲、十二音列、鳥歌、希臘節奏、印度節奏等等都有深入的研究,其音樂理論著作有《我的音樂語言》(Technique de mon langage musical)和《節奏、色彩與鳥鳴的理論》(Traité de rythme, de couleur, et d’ornithologie)。梅西安是巴黎音樂學院的教授,其著名學生有皮埃尔·布莱兹(Pierre Boulez)、卡尔海因茨·施托克豪森(Karlheinz Stockhausen)、伊馮·洛里奧(Yvonne Loriod,後來成為梅西安第二任妻子)、澤納基斯(Iannis Xenakis)、陳其鋼等等。
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