Quatuor pour la fin du temps

Quatuor pour la fin du Temps
Chamber music by Olivier Messiaen
Invitation to the premiere
English	Quartet for the End of Time
Composed	1940–1941
Dedication	"To the Angel who announces the End of Time"
Performed	15 January 1941 (1941-01-15): Görlitz
Published	1942
Publisher	Éditions Durand
Duration	50 minutes
Movements	eight
Scoring	clarinet violin cello piano
Premiere
Date	15 January 1941
Location	Stalag VIII-A, Görlitz, Germany
Performers	Jean le Boulaire (violin), Henri Akoka (clarinet), Étienne Pasquier (cello), Olivier Messiaen (piano)

Quatuor pour la fin du Temps (French pronunciation: [kwatɥɔʁ puʁ la fɛ̃ dy tɑ̃]), originally Quatuor de la fin du Temps ("Quartet of the End of Time"), also known by its English title Quartet for the End of Time,^[1] is an eight-movement piece of chamber music by the French composer Olivier Messiaen. It was premiered in 1941. The work is scored for clarinet (in B-flat), violin, cello, and piano; a typical performance of the complete work lasts about 50 minutes. Messiaen wrote the piece while a prisoner of war in German captivity and it was first performed by his fellow prisoners. It is generally considered one of his most important works.