Counterpoint Concerts:
Quartet for the End of Time
Dupont Underground
19 Dupont Circle NW
Washington, DC, 20036
May 29, 2026
6:30 PM – 9:00 PM
Performance runs from 7 — 8:45 PM with intermission
Description
Clarinetist Zachary Good, violinist Katie Hyun, and cellist Brook Speltz join pianist and Counterpoint founder Natalia Kazaryan for a program spanning centuries—from Heinrich Biber’s baroque intensity to Andy Akiho’s contemporary energy—culminating in Olivier Messiaen’s transcendent Quartet for the End of Time.
Messiaen’s Melody on a Theme of Mozart offers a serene reimagining of a classical motif, setting the stage for Biber’s virtuosic Passacaglia for solo violin. Akiho’s Lost on Chiaroscuro Street explores light and shadow through rhythmic vitality and texture, leading to Messiaen’s masterpiece—composed in a WWII prisoner-of-war camp—which unfolds as a profound meditation on time, spirituality, and the mysteries beyond human experience.
Official event art by David Plunkert.
Program
Olivier Messiaen - Melody on a Theme of Mozart for clarinet and piano
Heinrich Biber - Passacaglia for solo violin
Andy Akiho - Lost on Chiaroscuro Street
Olivier Messiaen - Quartet for the End of Time
Featuring
Brook Speltz, cello
Zachary Good, clarinet
Katie Hyun, violin
Natalia Kazaryan, piano