Written in 1940 when Messiaen was a prisoner of war, “Quartet for the End of Time” is a piece brimming with the triumph of the human spirit in that the work uses a mystical and ethereal interpretation of the biblical apocalypse as its starting point but looks beyond war, suffering and indeed, all of human time and space, to conceive of an “end” that transcends all earthly bounds. The Tashi reunion performance of this piece at Ravinia a few weeks ago was a Messiaen milestone, but Chicago Symphony clarinetist and Chicago Pro Musica founder John Bruce Yeh, CSO violinist Cho-Liang Lin, cellist Gary Hoffman and pianist Christopher Taylor will have a go at this endlessly fascinating piece in a program that also includes music of Debussy and Ravel, both significant influences on Messiaen. The New Budapest Orpheum Society performs songs of Viktor Ullmann at 2pm. (Dennis Polkow)
October 5 at University of Chicago’s Mandel Hall, 1131 E. 57th, (773)702-8068. 3pm. $5-$32.
Time-Release: Sunshine Boys Celebrate a New Album—One Year On Sunshine Boys’ CV is the music they make; it’s solid, poppy rock that never rocks too hard or too soft. It’s never too alien to not be groovy and never too familiar to sound like received wisdom.
Walking the Walk: Thirsty Ears Festival Reinvents Itself The reorganization of the concert is just half of the reimagination of the festival. There’s also an entirely separate component: an audio walking tour of the Ravenswood neighborhood.
