Widely regarded among the most important chamber works of the 20th century, Olivier Messiaen's Quatuor pour la fin du temps is a world within itself, a profound rumination on the concept of eternity — and, owing to its legendary and mythical stature as a work of resistance, an integral part of the European classical standard repertoire for several generations.

As such, the Quatuor is still the oldest piece in the repertoire of New York's Anzû Quartet, whose members — Olivia De Prato (violin), Ashley Bathgate (cello), Ken Thomson (clarinet) and Karl Larson (piano) — view the work as a catalyst for much of the contemporary music they perform today. Inspired by the lauded 1976 recording by the TASHI quartet, the group follows in some giant footsteps while digging deep into the original score with a renewed sense of rhythmic vitality, seeking to render Messiaen's pivotal work as powerful today as it was when he first composed it as a prisoner of war in 1940-41.

Produced by Ken Thomson
Recorded by Paul Coleman at Roulette, Brooklyn, NY, September 15-17, 2021
Edited by Ken Thomson
Mixed by Mike Tierney at Fieldnotes Studio, Brooklyn, NY, summer 2023
Mastered by Andreas K. Meyer at Swan Studios, NYC, September 2023

Cover artwork: “platitudes” by Jimmie James, 2025, NYC, acrylic on watercolor paper