Death and the Maiden (Franz Schubert) Full Concert - Live at The JAI - Art of Elan

Art of Elan's Death and the Maiden Concert (String Quartet No. 14 in D minor) by Franz Schubert, performed and recorded live on January 16, 2024 at The JAI (The Conrad Prebys Performing Arts Center) in La Jolla, CA

Repertoire:
“Death and the Maiden” (String Quartet No. 14 in D minor) by Franz Schubert
0:00 Allegro
11:01 Andante con moto
23:59 Scherzo
27:49 Presto

Ensemble:
Wesley Precourt, violin
Kate Hatmaker, violin
Hanah Stuart, viola
Alex Greenbaum, cello

Program Notes:
SCHUBERT: Death and the Maiden (1824)
Schubert began 1824 with a plan to write a set of three string quartets.

During this time, he famously wrote:
“I feel myself to be 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, think of a man, I say, whose splendid hopes have come to naught, to whom the happiness of love and friendship offers nothing but acutest pain, whose enthusiasm (at least, the inspiring kind) for the Beautiful threatens to disappear, and ask yourself whether he isn’t a miserable, unfortunate fellow.

My peace is gone, my heart is heavy,
I find it never, nevermore…

so might I sing every day, since each night when I go to sleep I hope never again to wake, and each morning merely reminds me of the misery of yesterday.”

The middle line (“My peace….”) is a quote from Gretchen at the Spinning Wheel, a song Schubert had set to text from Goethe’s Faust as a teenager. We’ll hear Schubert quote himself again tonight, as he uses a portion of the theme from his song Death and the Maiden as the basis for the second movement of his Quartet in D minor.

Schubert, perhaps more than any other composer, juxtaposes ethereal music of sublime tenderness with that of extreme harshness, even violence. His vision of beauty and peace is vividly painted in his lyrical moments and his music clearly contains the qualities he so yearned for (beauty, the “happiness of love and friendship”), yet it often seems slightly removed: an ideal fervently wished for but never attained.
—Program notes by Alex Greenbaum

Video Production: Kyle Johnson, DEFINITE Media
Audio Engineer: Daniel Rumley, Rumley Music and Audio Production
Photography: Gary Payne Photography

About Art of Elan:
Known for its collaborative spirit, Art of Elan has been pioneering unique events and bringing exciting classical music to diverse audiences for over 16 years through innovative partnerships and bi-national initiatives that have cultivated curious audiences on both sides of the border. By drawing inspiration from the word élan, which represents momentum, style, and spirit, Art of Elan continues to engage and energize audiences in new ways.