Quartet for the End of Time – Messiaen
The piece ‘Quartet for the End of Time’ by composer Olivier Messiaen will be performed at the City Hall of Novi Sad, on 18 June, starting at 8 pm, as part of the NEO Festival within the Fortress of Peace programme arch.
Paradoxically, direct witnesses of horrors become the most productive creators whose works are remembered forever. One of the most important composers of the 20th century, Olivier Messiaen, was in the army from the very beginning of World War II, and only a year later he ended up at the camp, where his composition for piano, cello, violin, and clarinet – Quartet for the End of Time premiered in front of 400 prisoners.
Although half a year later the musicians were released and returned to France, the composer noted that he was never listened to with more attention and comprehension.
That is why even today, as the European Capital of Culture, we listen to this work, performed by musicians from different parts of the world, from Serbia and Japan: Shinnosuke Inugai (piano), Aleksandar Tasić (clarinet), Marko Miletić (cello) and Julija Hartig (violin).