13.12.25, 20:00, Barbican Quartet, Haydn, Szymanowski & Schubert

When Franz Schubert began work on his fourteenth string quartet in 1824, he borrowed from his own repertoire: he recycled the theme from one of his songs, ‘Der Tod und das Mädchen’ (Death and the Maiden), thereby giving the quartet not only its unofficial name, but also an intriguing second movement. It begins with a funeral march, immediately setting the tone: death is approaching, and although it occasionally shows its most charming side, the undertone is unmistakably threatening. 

The Barbican Quartet, which won first prize in the ARD International Music Competition in 2022, once again demonstrates its versatility. In addition to Schubert's classic, they perform Haydn's Opus 20, No. 6. They place this forefather of the string quartet alongside the lesser-known but equally interesting Szymanovski. Barbican chose his second quartet.