Pieces › Franz Schubert

String Quartet in D minor, D. 810, No. 14 (“Death and the Maiden”)

4 movements

Franz Schubert · 1824 · D minor · 1445 bars · 921 chords analysed

The slow movement is a set of variations on Schubert's own song of that name, in which Death gently invites a frightened girl to sleep.

Schubert started writing quartets as a teenager for his family to play — his father on cello, his brothers on violin. The late ones, “Rosamunde”, “Death and the Maiden” and the G major, are among his greatest works.

Keys visited: D minor, C minor, F major, A minor, E major, F♯ minor, E minor, A major, D major, B♭ major, G minor, G major.