This guide follows Schubert’s String Quartet No. 14 in D minor, D. 810 “Death and the Maiden” (1824) in four parts: Allegro (sonata form), Andante con moto (theme and variations), Scherzo. Allegro molto (minuet and trio) and Presto.
I Allegro · Sonata form · 7 sections
A fortissimo D and a triplet figure open the , and a hushed -like answers them in the 14- . The is a quiet of the over restless triplets. The lilting in F major later turns violent. The works over both forms of the , the brings the back in D major, and the dies away on a D minor chord.
A and five variations in G minor. The 24- , a hushed death- taken from the song, keeps its harmony and length in every . In the first a violin descant floats over pulsing triplets, in the second the cello carries the tune, and the third gallops fortissimo. The fourth is the only in the major, and the fifth swells from to fortissimo. The restates the in G major.
A hard-edged, syncopated in D minor, full of sudden leaps from fortissimo to . Its two strains (A and B) lead back to the opening in A′. The turns to D major, slower and singing, with the first violin dancing above the tune and then the viola taking it; it is the only real rest in the whole . The then .
A breakneck in D minor, an Italian dance in 6/8 that tradition said could cure madness. The starts in with a limping dotted rhythm, and a broad -like (B) interrupts it. The in A′, the in B′, and the comes back in its original form in A″. Then a opens in D major as if to finish in triumph, but drops back to D minor for a tumultuous ending.
Section boundaries in music are not always sharp; a transition may be felt over a pause or a held chord.
SchubertQuartettsatz in C minor, D. 703SchubertGretchen am Spinnrade, D 118; Op. 2SchubertErlkönig, D 328; Op. 1SchubertSymphony No. 5 in B-flat major, D 485SchubertPiano Sonata in A minor, D. 537SchubertPiano Sonata in A major, D. 664SchubertSymphony No. 8 in B minor, D 759SchubertWanderer Fantasy in C major, D 760; Op. 15SchubertDie schöne Müllerin, D. 795SchubertPiano Sonata in A minor, D. 784
BachTrio Sonata No. 1 in E-flat major, BWV 525
HaydnSymphony No. 1 in D major, Hob. I:1HaydnHorn Concerto in D major, Hob. VIId:3HaydnPiano Sonata in A-flat major, Hob. XVI:46HaydnPiano Sonata in C minor, Hob. XVI:20HaydnString Quartet in A major, Op. 20 No. 6HaydnString Quartet in C major, Op. 20 No. 2HaydnString Quartet in D major, Op. 20 No. 4HaydnString Quartet in E-flat major, Op. 20 No. 1HaydnString Quartet in F minor, Op. 20 No. 5Path 05
Four players across almost two centuries: Haydn shapes the conversation, Bartók breaks it open, Shostakovich turns it inward.
Haydn → Mozart → Schubert → Beethoven → Dvořák → Debussy → Reger → Bartók → Shostakovich
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