26th Annual Student Research Conference
Schubert's String Quartet in A minor, Op. 29
Katy Byrd*, Sarite Brown, Emily Koboldt, and Leah Dieker
Dr. Brian X. Kubin, Faculty Mentor
Schubert's "Rosamunde" Quartet was composed in 1824, the thirteenth of his fifteen total string quartets and composed around the same time as the more famous "Death and the Maiden" Quartet. The title "Rosamunde" refers to the second movement, which quotes incidental music which Schubert composed for the play "Rosamunde, Princess of Cyprus." Today, we are playing the first movement, Allegro ma non troppo. This movement begins similarly to one of Schubert's earliest songs, Gretchen at the Spinning Wheel. The running eighth notes in the second violin part immediately set up the melancholic tone, much like the continuous piano sixteenths in Gretchen. This movement is very dramatic, with its underlying rhythmic urgency, extreme dynamics, brief fugato passages, and more intense darkness upsetting each appearance of a new positive theme. The following movements are far more subtle, which may be why this wonderful quartet is often so unfortunately overlooked and overshadowed by Schubert's more powerful chamber compositions which surround it.
Keywords: Schubert, String Quartet
Topic(s):Music
Presentation Type: Performance Art
Session: 1-2
Location: OPPH
Time: 9:45