What actually happened to the girl? In the second movement of this late string quartet we hear Franz Schubert's own song "Death and the Girl". But towards the end of his short life he only allowed Death to speak here, not the girl. A death that, however, appears comforting: "Be of good courage! I am not wild," says the corresponding passage of the song that Schubert used as the basis for the music. The popular subtitle of the quartet only became established after his death, and if you ignore it for a moment, you see an example of what is probably the most important chamber music genre, which is downright enormous for another reason too: its immense length makes it one of the longest string quartets in music history, which is actually a small symphony.

Death and the Maiden

GDA Göttingen

The Old Town Hall Goettingen

Johannes Brahms schrieb seine Vierte in den Sommermonaten der Jahre 1884 und 1885 und sprach doch von einer „traurigen Symphonie, die nicht nach dem hiesigen Klima schmecke“ – ein Eindruck, den wohl mancher Hörer teilt, wir befinden uns eben im verschatteten Spätwerk. Und dennoch gilt diese letzte seiner Symphonien vielen als seine gewichtigste. Nicholas Milton lässt dazu passend Franz Schuberts melancholisch bis kräftige „Zauberharfe“ aus der Rosamunde-Musik erklingen und lädt in der Konzertmitte das Gauss-Quartett Göttingen ein, „The Rave and the Nighingale“ unseres Composers in Focus Matthew Hindson zu spielen, ein Stück, mit dem der australische Komponist darüber nachdenkt, welche Art Musik Schubert wohl geschrieben hätte, wenn er 200 Jahre später geboren worden wäre.

Rave and the Nightingale

PS Speicher

From Beethoven to Debussy. From trio to quartet. From the end of the 18th to the end of the 19th century. Ludwig van Beethoven was still a young man in his mid-twenties when he wrote three string trios with the opus number 9. And he was expressly convinced of the quality of his work. The third example of this collection is indeed absolutely captivating, dark and full of passion. What it does to the sound when a second violin is added to the violin can be wonderfully studied in Claude Debussy's only string quartet, which was written 100 years later. But one thing remains astonishing: that the impressionist tone painter managed to remain true to his style with just four instruments, even in this small, intimate form.

Atsushi Komatsu-hayakawa

Events

Upcoming events

26 - 27 Jan, 2025

Death and the Maiden · Göttinger Symphonieorchester

14 - 16 Feb, 2025

Rave and the Nightingale · Göttinger Symphonieorchester

4 - 5 May, 2025

Zauberhaft · Göttinger Symphonieorchester

Future and recently performed repertoire

Viola in Death and the Maiden by Schubert

Göttinger Symphonieorchester

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