Kyung Wha Chung plays Messiaen Quartet for the End of Time

[geridg]

this is the most mind blowing slow movement of any chamber work I know of. Incredibly beautiful, sad, erie, meditative. And, to think Messiaen wrote this while in a German prisoner of war camp during WWII, and performed it there to his fellow prisoners. I would have collapsed in tears. Masterful. Thks for the post twofinedays!

[gallipoli2009]

What does it matter? He once said "that nothing is impossible, and never give up" I don't know much about it, but that must say something and, in all reality, that is all that counts. He was a genius of the highest magnitude......

[BlueCougar]

That was't a "concentration camp" Messiaen was in, it was a POW camp. Ii wasn't itended for the "Extermination" of Jews (not my words, mind you), but for "keeping" enemy (french) soldiers. Messiaen wrote it for the instrumentalists awailable there. The cello had one string missing, which Messiaen had to take into account...

[Caramellatta]

This is not the piece she's performing in the video.

[rascalrascal]

This doesn't bother me. It's a great effect here

[ernestomiguel]

wanna cry... this makes me feel .. i dunno... :(

[gingeroliver]

The sadness...the emotion...

It touches me.

[violinmusicfan]

The book of revelations was the source of inspiration for this.

[britandveg]

Never before had Messiaen seen so many people pay attention when this was performed...how humbling...how ethereal.

[plasticnapoleon22]

its one of the most profound compositions of all time, written in a concentration camp

[msiu]

You might have a common misunderstanding: According to his biography, his concentration camp experience was very brief and not dramatic. Being French, he was in fact treated quite well, so it was not a significant source of inspiration in this work.

[alibird1]

Karl Paulnack of the Boston Conservatory related that he did write this in the concentration camp for the three other musician prisoners with him and it was performed for the first time in the camp. The experience of being in a concentration camp can only be significant and this a source of inspiration.

[msiu]

Indeed it was performed for the first time in the camp. But the prison guards, upon learning that he was a famous composer, provided him with space, time and instruments so that he can compose and the group can perform. The prisoners in the camp, being non-Jews, were also not in great danger. So it's not the kind of concentration camp we might otherwise imagine.

[gallipoli2009]

but they did not know that. Just because a madman wanted to take over the world......it is still my favorite piece of music. It is full of hope, humanity and has something deep to say about life.....and there has got to be something in that?

[Bulacanos]

@gallipoli2009 Wait wait wait....

There's this music, and you guys are talking about Hitler? Way to go down Godwin's Law. This discussion is about as fucking annoying as the goddamn coughers in this vid.

[samfischkopf]

@Bulacanos talking about hitler underneath a song composed in auschwitz? ;) what's so wrong?

[Jayfire3103]

I heard about this a while ago. :-) love it!

[millsbrothers]

i am near tears......

[ikiFreaky]

love it...love it...love it!!!!!!

[GreyFrizzle]

beautiful voicings in the piano. nice build and clashing notes to... compliment, the lead.

love at first vibration of the eardrum.

[venusasaboy]

it's unreal that people can write music thats this good

[ty2]

You have to know that this was composed in a WWII prison camp. Messiaen was a prisoner of war. The premier performance was in 1941 in front of about 4 hundred other prisoners of war.

It gives me chills.

[juzo95]

ignore that...sorry.

[juzo95]

Prokofiev

[juzo95]

she is so beautiful! i love her!

[eastsidestory44]

im in tears....... so beautifull... :)

[thegreatholdini]

Does anyone have a copy of the sheet music for this? Dying to learn it!

[innerdeth]

I do.... you still want it? hehe

[8GRUM8]

Being a punk rocker most of my life and in my 20's, Its so cool that I was open enough to grasp and acknowledge the composers like Messiaen who have shaped music so beautifully with such refinement.

Narrow minds dont know what there missing!

[jamesaellis]

this is messiaen's year. relsih it

[tueslabelledujour]

breathtaking

[pviola314]

not unusual, this is a staple of the repertoire. At least that's what i'd like to say, but there are people who can't stomach this kind of work? (It beats me how, seeing as how it is so moving)

[allcanitbe]

wow!!

[floorembden]

prolongement et illustration des chemins ornithologiques de Messiaen, search on web : "site du partenariat radio classique messiaen" - (open the 2nd entry to read the text en supplément): une classe d'élèves de première explore très sensiblement cet univers

[radioheadoasisemily]

words can't describe how beautiful that was

[Mufasajazz]

hermoso... esos acordes incitan a un trance..

[bhixma]

marvellous

[muzzaa]

Messiaen and Satie are the 2 pillars of my classical taste.

[jcdraws]

Indeed, thank you. Transcendent performance.

[NeutralObserver]

thank you for uploading a five star music/video/photo montage. the premiere of this piece must have been very sad

[nacht22]

wait a minute, she is not playing

[twofinedays]

as I repeat the video and the music are two different stuff. There's no video documenting the performance of Messiaen, as far as I know, so I just used other video clip to make this 'music video'.

[richardyingren]

She is so very good. Thankyou.

[richardyingren]

Powerful stuff, thankyou.

[lindsayl284]

she was really cute and pretty back then!!

[gurtrudelim]

Messiaen... I heard her music in university of Toronto (2 professors played 2 piano)last year.

Even tho it was first time I heard Messiaen's music, it was so beautiful, full of seriousness. I really liked it, and I thanked faculty of Music for free ticket. :D

BTW, Ms. Kyung Wha Chung perfom very well.

And, I must say twofineday did very good job on putting images in nice manner.

Thank you for this clip :)

[kwcfan]

Hi twofinedays,

That is one cool recording, thanks!

Btw, is the recording of the Messianen on video tape or audio tape?

[twofinedays]

I got the record of this performance as an MP3 file. The video is what I made (or better, edited) myself with a short clip and some pictures.

[daeviydt]

god, i love this movement and this piece!

[scottbos68]

so so young then

[twofinedays]

the video itself is from 1976 or 1977, practicing Mozart by herself, and actually nothing to do with the quartet.

[kwcfan]

Hi,

Do you have the accompanying sound track ? Thanks.

[twofinedays]

It's a very short clip of about 20 seconds from a BBC documentary about Kyung-Wha Chung and her family.

[kwcfan]

OIC, I have never watched that documentary before. I'm sure you are going to post more clips from that documentary ? :)

[juzo95]

What is Kyung Wha Chung practicing in this video?

[twofinedays]

a Mozart concerto

[Jextxadore]

Agreed. It's completely irrelevant and shouldn't even be there.

[twofinedays]

what do you mean that it 'shouldn't even be here?'

[Jextxadore]

The video part - it's irrelevant and confusing at a first glance

[twofinedays]

I'm sorry if you felt confusing. But as I believe, it is often happen to find and use other irrelevant videos when the actual visula document of certain music is not available. And in that sense, I feel it is not proper to comment that it is 'completely irrelevant' and 'shouldn't even be there'. You can choose to listen to the music without looking at the video.

[Jextxadore]

No disrespect intended, twofinedays. That was my opinion when I first saw the video, and, if that is the case, then it would be appropriate to use videos from another document =)