Berkeley Ensemble with Libby Burgess, piano
St John's Smith Square, St John's Church Smith Square, SW1P 3HA , [Venue Details]"If I composed this quartet, it was to escape from the snow, from the war, from the captivity, and from myself. The greatest benefit that I drew from it was that in the midst of thirty thousand prisoners, I was the only man who was not one.”
Messiaen’s Quartet for the End of Time has assumed near-mythical status since its premiere 85 years ago at a prisoner-of-war camp, performed in freezing midwinter to hundreds of fellow inmates.
With the outbreak of World War II Messiaen had been drafted into the French army but was captured in 1940 and sent to the Stalag VIII-A camp near Görlitz. There he found himself imprisoned with three other professional musicians – a violinist, clarinettist and cellist – and began writing for the unusual ensemble circumstance had thrown together.
The piece was inspired by apocalyptic visions from the Book of Revelation, but its title was double-edged: it also represented the end of a clockwork, periodic musical time that had held sway for centuries.
Though grounded in his unshakable Catholic faith, Messiaen drew on a kaleidoscope of sources, from birdsong to his own synaesthesia, which enabled him to ‘see’ harmony in colour. Both radically modern and spiritually transcendent, it is a work like no other.
Image© Liz Isles Photography
More Information
Admission: £6.00
Performer name: Berkeley Ensemble, Libby Burgess
Interval: No
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Berkeley Ensemble with Libby Burgess, piano
Thursday, 30 Apr 2026 @1.05pm
St John's Smith Square, St John's Church Smith Square, SW1P 3HAMore Information
"If I composed this quartet, it was to escape from the snow, from the war, from the captivity, and from myself. The greatest benefit that I drew from it was that in the midst of thirty thousand prisoners, I was the only man who was not one.”
Messiaen’s Quartet for the End of Time has assumed near-mythical status since its premiere 85 years ago at a prisoner-of-war camp, performed in freezing midwinter to hundreds of fellow inmates.
With the outbreak of World War II Messiaen had been drafted into the French army but was captured in 1940 and sent to the Stalag VIII-A camp near Görlitz. There he found himself imprisoned with three other professional musicians – a violinist, clarinettist and cellist – and began writing for the unusual ensemble circumstance had thrown together.
The piece was inspired by apocalyptic visions from the Book of Revelation, but its title was double-edged: it also represented the end of a clockwork, periodic musical time that had held sway for centuries.
Though grounded in his unshakable Catholic faith, Messiaen drew on a kaleidoscope of sources, from birdsong to his own synaesthesia, which enabled him to ‘see’ harmony in colour. Both radically modern and spiritually transcendent, it is a work like no other.
Image© Liz Isles Photography
Admission: £6.00
Performer name: Berkeley Ensemble, Libby Burgess
Interval: No
Halibuts is the only place to find ALL London's live music.
Free for all to use, we track ~1,000 London venues and list every type of live music.
To reach our home page, Click here
Or download the Halibuts APP:
IOS
ANDROID