Death and the Maiden

Amadeus Quartet
Franz SchubertDeutsche Grammophon 1998


Only the thought of death can impart to the thoughts about life the thematic intensity, the melodic drama, and the positive clarity that emerge in the last movement of this masterpiece by Schubert. The debate between yes and no is resolved in the mysterious yes of the fourth and last movement. It is a mysterious yes, because Schubert does not know the face of destiny, but he knows that there is, there must be... the great horse-ride.

(Excerpt from the introduction by Luigi Giussani to the booklet enclosed in the CD)