Concert Liza Ferschtman & Sharon Kam & Christian Poltéra & Enrico Pace

“An angel comes down from heaven, enveloped in a cloud…” This passage from the Book of Revelation inspired the French composer Olivier Messiaen to create his famous ‘Quatuor pour la fin du temps’ while he was imprisoned during the Second World War. With dramatic swathes of sound that immediately grab you by the throat, an intense confrontation arises between a fragile liturgy and the cruelty of the second great world conflagration. In his music, Messiaen wanted to reach for the eternal and detach himself from time and space. In ‘Quatuor pour la fin du temps’ he came tantalisingly close.

The quote from the descending angel could equally have been referring to the Dutch violinist Liza Ferschtman. This born musician is today widely renowned for her flawless technique and matchless expressiveness, and the musicians around her are certainly on a par with her.

AT 6 PM VIOLINIST LIZA FERSCHTMAN WILL GIVE A TALK on ‘Quatuor pour la fin du temps’ by Messiaen (lasts about an hour, in Dutch and English). This lecture is INCLUDED in your concert ticket.