Ictus plays Messiaen's Quartet for the End of Time

About the Event

Hear Messiaen's Quatuor pour la fin du temps (Quartet for the End of Time), written in 1940 when the composer was a prisoner of war in a German camp.

The work is a poignant one, written for the instruments available to Messiaen in the camp: violin, clarinet, cello, and piano. Its two slow movements, Louanges, are exceptionally tender, while the rhythmic Danse de la fureur demonstrates an extraordinary resilience.