Quatuor pour la fin du temps

Quatuor pour la fin du temps, also known by its English title Quartet for the End of Time, is a piece of chamber music by the French composer Olivier Messiaen. It was written in 1940 and is generally regarded as one of his finest works.

Composition and first performance

Messiaen had been captured by the German army during World War II and was being held as a prisoner of war in Görlitz in Silesia. He had managed to obtain some manuscript paper and upon discovering a violinist, a cellist and a clarinettist among his fellow prisoners, he wrote a short trio for them. He later wrote the Quatuor for the same trio, plus himself at the piano. The Quartet was premiered to an audience of 5,000 fellow prisoners of war and prison guards in Stalag VIII A on January 15, 1941. Messiaen later recalled the occasion: "Never have I been heard with as much attention and understanding."

Related Topics:
World War II - Prisoner of war - Görlitz - Silesia - Manuscript paper - Violin - Cellist - Clarinet - Trio - Piano - 1941

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