”Messiaen shone as a fierce defiance against the pandemic.”
Martin Nyström, DN
The 2021 Frontside Festival was possible to experience via livestream directly from Älvsborg Church in the midst of the pandemic, thanks to organist Hans Davidsson and the Älvsborg congregation. The theme was Frontside Light – Let the music sound! The theme reflected on the power of music and its ability to endure in all kinds of situations since ancient times.
One of the festival’s key pieces, strongly tied to its theme, was the French composer Olivier Messiaen’s “Quatuor pour la fin du temps” (Quartet for the End of Time), which was performed on Friday, January 15, precisely 80 years after its premiere.
Messiaen, who was deeply Catholic, completed one of chamber music’s most fascinating and emotionally charged works under extremely difficult conditions as a prisoner of war in the Nazi internment camp Stalag VIII-A near the town of Görlitz in southeastern Germany.
The premiere took place on January 15, 1941, for at least 400 prisoners of war and camp guards. Messiaen himself on the piano and three fellow prisoners on clarinet, violin and cello performed the quartet. Their instruments were in poor condition, missing keys, strings, and pads. It must have been cold. One can hardly imagine the situation.
Messiaen later recalled the event, saying, “Never have I been listened to with such attention and understanding.” The quartet’s clarinetist, Henri Akoka, commented on the piece: “It is the only thing I want to remember from the war!”
If you want to delve deeper into this legendary work, we recommend you to listen to P2 Documentär from 2021.
Frontside Chamber Music Association has existed since 2019 and is largely driven by volunteer efforts, but we are highly dependent on additional financial sponsors and fundings. All contributions are used to engage fantastic musicians, rents of venues and all other things that make the festival a magical experience.
If you are interested in chamber music that goes beyond the ordinary, you should become a member! As a member, you are invited to the association’s annual meeting and participate in electing the board. You can also suggest activities for the association, thereby influencing future festivals and other events we organize. You also have the opportunity to volunteer during the festival, allowing you to enjoy wonderful chamber music without paying an entrance fee.
How do I become a member and support Frontside? Submit your information in the form below and pay the membership fee, and we will register you as a member immediately. Please also indicate which chamber music you love the most. Together with your personal information, this helps us better understand who our members are. How we handle your information can be read under the GDPR section.
You renew your membership every fall term – we’ll remind you! Alternatively, you can purchase a lifetime membership and thus become a permanent member with a one-time fee.
If you join as a new member in the spring, your payment also covers the following year’s membership.
How do I do it and what does it cost? You can pay the membership fee to Bankgiro 5318-7969 or via Swish 123 356 63 95. Always include your name and, if paying via bankgiro, your mobile number.
Welcome as a member!
For requests, feedback, and additional information, fill in your message in the form at the bottom or send an email to info@frontside-festival.se
The General Data Protection Regulation, GDPR, came into force within the EU on May 25, 2018.
How does Frontside handle its membership register? In our membership register, we store your name, address details, email address, phone number, and birth year. If you leave the association, we will retain your information for a maximum of seven (7) years before deleting it.
Who has access to my information? We register your details digitally in our membership register. Only you (first party) and individuals with trusted roles in the association (second party) have access to your information. No information is shared with third parties.
You can request to see what information we have collected about you at any time.
Validity? By becoming a member of the association, you enter into an agreement regarding which information about you can be stored with us and who has access to this information, as described above. This agreement is valid indefinitely, as long as you are a member of the Frontside Chamber Music Association.
Do I have the right to have my information deleted? According to GDPR, you have the right to have your information deleted, but you will also lose your membership in the association. To request this, send an email to info@frontside-festival.se and ask for your stored information to be deleted.
