Death and the Maiden by Schubert, L 13 mai 2023, Alates (2023/2023), Holywell Music Room, Oxford, United Kingdom

Franz Schubert was unusually aware of his own mortality. But even Schubert was at a low ebb in March 1824 – sick, tired and unable to find peace. Then one day, he reached for one of his own songs, in which Death asks a young maiden innocently for her hand, offering eternal sleep. It provided the tune on which Schubert would hang a string quartet wracked with despair but filled with spirit. Soloists of the Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra come together for Schubert’s most profound quartet and, in contrast, his unfailingly heartwarming ‘Trout’ quintet.