Quartet for the end of time
Olivier Messiaen’s Quatuor pour la fin du temps was composed and given its first performance in the Stalag VIII-A prisoner of war camp in 1941.
Taking his inspiration from the Book of Revelation, Messiaen incorporates bird song, ancient Greek and Indian theories of music, and mathematical ideas into what is widely regarded as one of the most important chamber works of the 20th century.