Hearing the End of Time
UWEC music faculty collaborate on epic project
The Book of Revelations. World War II. Awe-inspiring music. What could possibly bring these three things together? The answer is the amazing Quartet for the End of Time, set to be performed at two upcoming shows by pianist Namji Kim, violinist Nobu Yasuda, clarinetist Richard Fletcher, and cellist Tulio Rondon, all of whom teach for UWEC’s music department. Originally written as a short trio by French composer Olivier Messiaen during his internment at a German prison camp, Quartet for the End of Time’s initial success led to the addition of seven more movements and a piano to the ensemble, creating a magnificent piece which Messiaen and his group first performed to their 5,000 fellow prisoners in 1941. Yasuda, who conducts the Chippewa Valley Symphony, said he loves the piece because it so faithfully expresses what Messiaen must have been going through at the time. “I can feel his agony,” says Yasuda. “Everything’s so distorted mentally, but at the same time it’s transcendent.” Messiaen’s piece is at once a musical extension of the account of Revelations and a way for him to, as Yasuda says, “express the ugliness of life, the violent and tortuous struggle. It takes him from despair suddenly to refuge, almost to heaven.” As for Yasuda, he’s just happy his group gets to play it. “It’s a difficult piece, but fantastic music to create. It’s wonderful to get to perform such great music for our community.”
Quartet for the End of Time • Feb. 7 • Gantner Hall, Haas Fine Arts, UWEC campus • 2pm • FREE • www.uwec.edu /// Feb. 19 • Heyde Center for the Arts •7:30pm •Adults $8, Seniors $7, Youth $4, Family $18 • 726-9000 • www.cvca.net •
