Franz Schubert
La morte e la fanciulla (Hagen-Quartett)

It is difficult not to be fascinated and engaged by listening to this CD. Whatever mood characterizes you, you cannot help but appreciate the oppressive atmosphere that emanates from this string quartet by Schubert. Written during a not-so-great period in his life (1824), it did not suit the taste of the early 19th-century audience when it was first performed and poorly judged.

Lugubrious, with rare moments of light like the andante con moto of the second movement, it transports you with its delicate melancholy beyond the classic negative thoughts, where the absence of feeling is established, when musical emotion prevails over the contingent. One might wonder how it is possible to create such sensations without a rich ultra-technological arsenal, but only with four non-electric string instruments. In the most intense moments, it will seem as if you are listening to an entire orchestra; it is hard to realize that all this can emerge solely from two violins, a viola, and a cello.

The theme of death, and especially the promise of serenity in its embrace, is highlighted by continuous changes of intensity, which never lower the tension of the musical weave. "I am not wicked; you will sweetly sleep in my arms" says death in the poem by Matthias Claudius, which inspires the entire work. The disheartening balance of this choice between life and death, the sadly realistic equality between the two fates is probably what the author wants to communicate to us in such a sublime manner.

The CD also includes Beethoven's Quartet No. 16 in F major op. 135, which, however, does not reach the same pathos as Schubert's work. The listening brings you back to a distinct 19th-century atmosphere, which may have its charm.

The interpretation by the Salzburg Hagen Quartet does not disappoint.