Messiaen’s war monument

Olivier Messiaen composed Quatuor pour la fin du temps in 1941, in the German prisoner-of-war camp Görlitz. The piece was originally composed for four musicians who happened to be in the camp at the time. Today, it requires four soloists of the highest level, who can perform together as a perfectly balanced quartet. Violinist Isabelle Faust, clarinettist Jörg Widmann, cellist Jean-Guihen Queyras, and pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard certainly meet those requirements. Messiaen’s ‘end of times’ has seldom resonated with such poignant depth and disquiet.

The four musicians know each other well, having performed together in various ensembles. Isabelle Faust and Jean-Guihen Queyras previously recorded Elliott Carter’s Epigrams with Pierre-Laurent Aimard, to whom the work is dedicated. ‘A teasingly gnomic swansong’, Gramophone called this twelve-part piano trio from 2012. Alban Berg’s 4 Stücke for clarinet and piano, as well as Ravel’s Sonata for violin and cello, are also masterpieces and they could not be in better hands.