Quatuor pour la fin du temps

Quatuor pour la fin du Temps
Chamber music by Olivier Messiaen
Invitation to the premiere
EnglishQuartet for the End of Time
Composed1940–1941
Dedication"To the Angel who announces the End of Time"
Performed15 January 1941 (1941-01-15): Görlitz
Published1942
PublisherÉditions Durand
Duration50 minutes
Movementseight
Scoring
  • clarinet
  • violin
  • cello
  • piano
Premiere
Date15 January 1941
LocationStalag VIII-A, Görlitz, Germany
PerformersJean le Boulaire (violin), Henri Akoka (clarinet), Étienne Pasquier (cello), Olivier Messiaen (piano)

Quatuor pour la fin du Temps (French pronunciation: [kwatɥɔʁ puʁ la fɛ̃ dy tɑ̃]), originally Quatuor de la fin du Temps ("Quartet of the End of Time"), also known by its English title Quartet for the End of Time,[1] is an eight-movement piece of chamber music by the French composer Olivier Messiaen. It was premiered in 1941. The work is scored for clarinet (in B-flat), violin, cello, and piano; a typical performance of the complete work lasts about 50 minutes. Messiaen wrote the piece while a prisoner of war in German captivity and it was first performed by his fellow prisoners. It is generally considered one of his most important works.

  1. ^ "Quartet for the End of Time". laphil.com. Archived from the original on 26 January 2018. Retrieved 4 September 2020.