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.

Berkeley Ensemble with Libby Burgess, piano

Smith Square Hall

Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition may have inspired more arrangements than any other piece in the classical canon, but this performance eschews the most famous by Ravel for a more intimate version for String Quartet. Mussorgsky’s aren’t the only images in this programme – Crawford-Seeger’s Wind Quintet paints a compelling image of the ailing composer returning to the thing she most loves, while Arnold’s Guitar Concerto is a tacit portrait of the great jazz guitarists – Django Reinhardt’s influence on the piece is unmistakable.

Pictures At An Exhibition With The Berkeley Ensemble

St. John's Smith Square

Our side-by-side series continues with a series of chamber collaborations between Southbank Sinfonia and the Berkeley Ensemble. These two pieces - Hindemith's Kammermusik and Stravinsky's Dumbarton Oaks - represent two sides of a monumental coin: the approach of early 20th century composers to classical music. Hindemith is cautious and tactful, following the rules and doctrines laid out in the Baroque period: ordered, reserved, yet beautiful (a bit like the British countryside). Stravinsky, while paying homage to his elders, is sly, brash, and witty. Not to be missed.

Berkeley Ensemble

Apr 30, 2026