Messiaen’s “Quartet” Played At Prison
A cacophonous and arrhythmic piece, Messiaen’s “Quartet for the End of Time†is challenging enough for both player and spectator that it’s rarely performed in concert. But in August of this year, a group of 100 or so inmates from New York City’s Rikers Island jail complex gathered outside in the yard to hear a group of musicians perform selections of Messiaen’s compositions for an episode of the Amazon original series “Mozart in the Jungle.” The result, called “Not Yet Titled,†is a moving half-hour of television that extends beyond the boundaries of fiction and serves as a reminder of art’s power to transcend even the most miserable circumstances.
