Schubert and the Maiden?

Synopsis

On today's date in 1826, Schubert's String Quartet in D minor, subtitled "Death and the Maiden," received its first try-out reading at the Vienna home of Karl and Franz Hacker, two amateur musicians. Schubert, who usually played viola on such occasions, could not himself perform since he was busy copying out the parts and making last-minute corrections.

A second round of rehearsals and revisions followed the next day, and, on February 1st, the same performers gave the first full performance at the home of another one of Schubert's friends, the tenor Josef Barth.

It was at private homes that most of Schubert's music had its first performances, but Schubert's friends often pressed him to organize a public concert of his works. "Make a start, get over your laziness -- give a concert -- only YOUR things, of course," wrote one of Schubert's friends in 1827. "People will fight for tickets and, though you won't get rich, one evening's takings will see you though a whole year and such an event could be repeated every year."

Schubert finally did organize and present a concert of his works in March of 1828, and, as predicted, the hall was crowded, the public cheered, and Schubert netted almost 800 Florins, which enabled him to pay off some debts and even buy a piano (until then he had been renting one). But the Viennese newspapers didn't bother to review it, and the idea couldn't be repeated the next year, since by that time Schubert had already died.

Music Played in Today's Program

Franz Schubert (1797–1828) String Quartet in d (Death and the Maiden) Emerson String Quartet DG 459 151

On This Day

Births

• 1715 - Austrian composer Georg Christoph Wagenseil, in Vienna;

• 1782 - French composer Daniel-François-Esprit Auber, in Caen;

• 1852 - British composer Frederic Hymen Cowen, in Kingston, Jamaica;

• 1862 - English composer Fritz (Frederick) Delius, in Bradford, Yorkshire;

• 1876 - English composer Havergal Brian, in Dresden, Staffordshire;

• 1924 - Italian composer Luigi Nono, in Venice;

Deaths

• 1946 - British composer Sydney Jones, age 84, in London, age 84;

• 1962 - Austrian composer and violinist Fritz Kreisler, age 86, in New York City;

Premieres

• 1728 - Gay & Pepusch: ballad-opera, “The Beggar’s Opera,” at Lincoln’s Inn Fields, London; This work, mounted by the London impresario John Rich, proved so popular that it was staged 62 times that season; As contemporary wags put it, the wildly successful work “made Gay Rich and Rich Gay&rdquo(Gregorian date: Feb. 9);

• 1781 - Mozart: opera, "Idomeneo" in Munich at the Hoftheater;

• 1826 - Schubert: String Quartet in D minor, "Death and the Maiden," as a unrehearsed reading at the Vienna home of Karl and Franz Hacker, two amateur musicians; Schubert, who usually played viola on such occasions, could not perform since he was busy copying out the parts and making last-minute corrections;

• 1882 - Rimsky-Korsakov: opera "The Snow Maiden," in St. Petersburg (Gregorian date: Feb. 10);

• 1892 - Chadwick: “A Pastoral Prelude,” by the Boston Symphony. Arthur Nikisch conducting;

• 1916 - Prokofiev: "Scythian" Suite ("Ala and Lolly"), Op. 20, at the Mariinsky Theater in Petrograd, with the composer conducting (Julian date: Jan. 16);

• 1932 - Gershwin: "Second Rhapsody" for piano and orchestra, in Boston, with the Boston Symphony conducted by Serge Koussevitzky and the composer as soloist;

• 1936 - Constant Lambert: "Summer's Last Will and Testament" for chorus and orchestra, in London;

• 1981 - John Williams: first version of Violin Concerto (dedicated to the composer's late wife, actress and singer Barbara Ruick Williams), by Mark Peskanov and the St. Louis Symphony conducted by Leonard Slatkin; Williams subsequently revised this work in 1998; This premiere date is listed (incorrectly) as Jan. 19 in the DG recording featuring Gil Shaham;