Isabelle Faust, Jörg Widmann, Jean-Guihen Queyras, and Pierre-Laurent Aimard perform Messiaen's Quartet for the End of Time

Olivier Messiaen's Quatuor pour la fin du temps (Quartet for the End of Time) is one of the most important works of art of the twentieth century, exceptional both for its musical qualities and its remarkable history: its premiere took place in a prisoner-of-war camp in Görlitz, Germany in 1941, performed by the composer himself at the piano, clarinetist Henri Akoka, cellist Etienne Pasquier, and violinist Jean Le Boulaire.

In the European Centre of Education and Culture in Zgorzelec, Poland—a border town that was part of Görlitz until 1945—Isabelle Faust (violin), Jörg Widmann (clarinet), Jean-Guihen Queyras (cello), and Pierre-Laurent Aimard (piano) team up to pay tribute to Messiaen and to all those who suffered in the Görlitz camp by interpreting Messiaen's heart-rending quartet. The work's eight movements, inspired by the Apocalypse of Saint John, evoke by turns the birds' awakening, the arrival of the angel heralding the end times, the last judgment… These four virtuosos recount a veritable story in music with a spectacular variety of rhythms, tonalities, and registers in an unforgettable concert that adds a valuable chapter to the history of its place of recording.