Meet the Strings

“Music does not exist in a vacuum.” Whilst Benjamin Britten was referring primarily to the performance context of musical works, this also applies to the works themselves and their genesis: a work is always rooted in a cultural context, or rather in what the composer makes of that context; in a complex web of sources of inspiration, aesthetic sensibilities and intentions. A good example of this is “Death and the Maiden”, an allegory that has been popular since the Renaissance. This eerie, erotic motif has been taken up and developed in various art forms, including in the poem of the same name by Matthias Claudius from 1775. Franz Schubert, in turn, used this as the text for his song “Death and the Maiden”.
Schubert’s song writing also served as an important foundation for works in other genres, as evidenced not least by the slow movements of the string quartets D 804 and 810 from 1824. Both are based on direct quotations from the songs ‘Rosamunde’ and, indeed, ‘Death and the Maiden’. In the quartet D 810, Schubert expands this melody into a steadily building, symphonic-sounding set of variations. Presumably with the intention of making the quartet suitable for large concert halls, Gustav Mahler arranged it for string orchestra. The resulting piece is, however, an entirely new work; despite the unchanged musical material, the difference in the sonic impression is immense. Instead of intimate intensity, expansive soundscapes unfold over the foundation of the added double bass. And then there is also Britten’s performance context: the string players of the Musikkollegium Winterthur, in turn, draw out a new, entirely unique facet of the work.