Franz Schubert in A Minor D. 804 Op. 29 ‘Rosamunde’

Schubert’s output of string quartets includes fifteen complete extant works, plus fragments of others. His first twelve quartets were composed in his teenage years between 1811 and 1816. This abundance of early quartets owes its existence to the tradition of ‘Hausmusik’ in Schubert’s family – his two brothers on , he on the and his father on the formed their own in-house quartet. In early 1824, he quickly produced three masterpieces: The Quartet in A Minor, the Quartet in D Minor (‘Death and the Maiden’) and the Octet in F for winds and strings. Schubert wrote his A Minor quartet for Ignaz Schuppanzigh’s ensemble, who gave the first performance on March 14, 1824 to a warm reception.

We know from Schubert’s letters and contemporary reports that both his physical and mental health were in a fragile state during this period of his life. Profoundly depressed by his advanced syphilis, his sense of mortality was intensified. In a distressing letter to his friend Leopold Kupelwieser, he confided: ‘I feel myself the most unfortunate, the most miserable being in the world. Think of a man whose health will never be right again, and who from despair over the fact makes it worse instead of better.’

The first movement begins with a poignant melody reminiscent of Schubert’s setting of ‘Gretchen at the Spinning Wheel’, a poem from Goethe’s Faust which opens with the solemn words, ‘My peace is gone, heavy is my heart, nevermore shall I find it again.’

The tranquil second movement is more serene. It gives the quartet its nickname of ‘Rosamunde’, as Schubert borrowed the gently dotted melody he had composed some months earlier for the incidental music to the short-lived play Rosamunde, Princess of Cyprus.

The Menuetto reverts to the world of gloom and despondency reflecting the pathos of the first movement. It is difficult to imagine anyone dancing to such mournful music. The Trio modulates to the major key, raising the spirits momentarily, before a return to the disconsolate mood of the minuet.

Only in the Allegro Moderato finale does Schubert lift the veil of melancholy. The main subject is a cheerful melody suggestive of a rustic peasant dance with elements of gypsy fiddling. Switching from major to minor mode and the hint of fleeting shadows beneath the surface, remind us that the quartet is the mirror of a tormented soul.

At its premiere, the ‘Rosamunde’ Quartet was programmed alongside the Opus 20 of Beethoven. Sadly, at the time of his death just four years later, this was the only one of his quartets that had been performed publicly in its entirety and his only chamber work to have been published in his lifetime.

Program notes kindly prepared by Elizabeth Dalton.