Franz Schubert was born in Vienna, Austria, on January 31, 1797, and died there on November 19, 1828. Approximate performance time is forty minutes.

In March of 1824, Franz Schubert made the following entry in his notebook:

O imagination! Thou greatest treasure of man, thou inexhaustible wellspring from which artists as well as savants drink! O remain with us still, by however few thou art acknowledged and revered, to preserve us from that so-called enlightenment, that hideous skeleton without flesh and blood!

It is clear that when he wrote those words, Franz Schubert’s imagination and creative genius were in full flight. That same month, Schubert completed his magnificent String Quartets in A minor, D. 804, and D minor, D. 810.

The D-minor is also known as the “Death and the Maiden” Quartet. This is a reference (not made by Schubert) to the title of the composer’s 1817 song for solo voice and piano, based upon a text by Matthias Claudius. In that song, a terrified young woman confronts the specter of Death, who tries to offer consolation:

Das Mädchen

Vorüber, ach, vorüber!

Geh, wilder Knochenmann!

Ich bin noch jung, geh, Lieber!

Und rühe mich nicht an.

The Maiden

Pass me by, o pass me by!

Go, wild skeleton!

I am still young, go, dear one!

And touch me not!

Der Tod

Gib deine Hand, du schön und zart Gebild!

Bin Freund und komme nicht zu strafen.

Sei gutes Muts! ich bin nicht wild,

Sollst sanft in meinem Armen schlafen!

Death

Give me your hand, o fair and tender form!

I am your friend; I do not come to punish.

Be of good cheer! I am not wild,

You shall sleep softly in my arms.

The piano’s prelude and accompaniment to Death’s pronouncements in the song form the basis for the D-minor Quartet’s theme and variations second movement.

In January of 1826, at the Vienna home of composer Franz Lachner, the Schuppanzigh Quartet rehearsed the Schubert D-minor Quartet. The leader of the Quartet, Ignaz Schuppanzigh, had performed the premieres of several of Beethoven’s greatest chamber works. According to Lachner, Schuppanzigh, who encountered difficulties with the first violin part, told Schubert: “My dear fellow, this is no good, leave it alone; you stick to your songs!”

In time, of course, the “Death and the Maiden” Quartet became recognized as one of Schubert’s greatest chamber compositions. It certainly gained the admiration of Gustav Mahler (1860-1911). In 1894, Mahler created a performing version of this work (originally scored for two violins, viola, and cello) for a full complement of orchestral strings, including double basses. Mahler led a performance of the Quartet’s second movement at a concert in Hamburg on November 19, 1894. The critical reaction was far from positive, and Mahler never conducted a complete performance of his string orchestra version of the “Death and the Maiden.”

Almost a century later, Mahler’s daughter Anna gave her father’s collection of Schubert’s String Quartets to the noted Mahler authority, Donald Mitchell. The score for the D-minor Quartet included Mahler’s handwritten notations—his thoughts on an arrangement of the work for string orchestra. From this source, Mitchell and British composer David Matthews edited a performing version that received its premiere at New York’s Carnegie Hall on May 6, 1984. Moshe Atzmon conducted the strings of the American Symphony Orchestra.

The “Death and the Maiden” Quartet is in four movements. The first (Allegro) opens with a powerful, triplet-based motif that recalls the immortal “Fate” theme of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony (1808). The motif serves as the nucleus for the dramatic opening theme that, as in the case of the Beethoven Fifth, journeys throughout the ensemble in a lightning-quick and dramatically gripping fashion. The second principal theme—softly intoned by the violins over a repeated figure in the violas—is far more gentle. But in later permutations, it also assumes a forceful character. The second movement (Andante con moto) opens with the central theme—derived from Schubert’s 1817 song, “Death and the Maiden,” and in the spirit of a funeral march. This theme serves as the basis for a series of five variations, finally leading to the movement’s peaceful conclusion. The third movement juxtaposes a brusque D minor Scherzo (Allegro molto) with an elegant D Major Trio. The finale (Presto) is in the spirit of a vibrant Italian dance.

program notes by Ken Meltzer