The concert programme brings together two exceptional works of the twentieth century that offer powerful testimonies to human experience at the limits, spirituality and expressive force. Weinberg’s Piano Trio was written in 1945, shortly after the end of the Second World War. The Jewish composer, who was born in Poland and had fled to the Soviet Union to escape the Nazis, processes both personal experiences of loss and the collective catastrophe of war in this work. The Trio stands in the tradition of great Romantic chamber music, yet is marked by stark contrasts, painful expressivity and echoes of Jewish folk music.
Under extreme conditions, Messiaen wrote his »Quatuor pour la fin du temps« in 1940–41 while a German prisoner of war. He composed it for the unusual combination of clarinet, violin, cello and piano, reflecting the musicians and instruments available in the camp. The premiere took place there in front of fellow prisoners. The work was inspired by the Book of Revelation, in particular the idea of the »end of time«. From this, Messiaen developed a deeply spiritual musical language that consciously breaks away from traditional notions of musical time.
PERFORMERS
Matthias Schorn clarinet
Viviane Hagner violin
Alexey Stadler violoncello
Adam Golka piano
PROGRAM
Mieczysław Weinberg
Piano Trio in A minor, Op. 24
- Interval -
Olivier Messiaen
Quatuor pour la fin du temps
