DESCRIPTION:
Olivier Messiaen Quatour pour la fin de temps (Quartet for the End of Time) 1941

I. Liturgie di cristal ("Crystal Liturgy") 0:00
II. Vocalise, pour l'Ange qui annonce la fin du Temps ("Vocalise, for the Angel who announces the end of time") 2:43
III. Abîme des oiseaux ("Abyss of the birds") 8:15
IV. Intermède ("Interlude") 17:05
V. Louange à l'Éternité de Jésus ("Praise to the eternity of Jesus") 19:25
VI. Danse de la fureur, pour les sept trompettes ("Dance of fury, for the seven trumpets") 30:37
VII. Fouillis d'arcs-en-ciel, pour l'Ange qui annonce la fin du Temps ("Tangle of rainbows, for the Angel who announces the end of time") 36:58
VIII. Louange à l'Immortalité de Jésus ("Praise to the immortality of Jesus") 44:45

Messiaen wrote this piece while he was a prisoner of war of the Nazis during World War II. The premier took place inside the prisoner of war camp with fellow prisoners in January of 1941. The story of the piece is extremely powerful and adds to the power of the music itself. I encourage anyone who doesn't know about the history to read about the history of the piece here:

http://csosoundsandstories.org/messiaens-ultimate-act-of-faith-his-quartet-for-the-end-of-time/

Performing this piece is unlike any other piece I've performed. We were lucky to get to perform it many times, and I hope to perform it many times in the future.

Performed live in Field Concert Hall at the Curtis Institute of Music on April 1st, 2016.

Chelsea Wang, piano
Stephen Tavani, violin
Zachary Mowitz, cello
Slavko Popovic, clarinet

https://stephentavani.com