Quatuor Modigliani with Der Tod und das Mädchen from Schubert

From the iron repertoire to commissioned compositions

'Balance, transparency, symphonic understanding, certainty in style, their performance reached a very high and inspiring level', concluded the Süddeutsche Zeitung after a concert by Quatuor Modigliani. The French quartet, founded in 2003, is a welcome guest on the major world stages, playing music ranging from the iron repertoire to commissioned compositions. One of those assignments will be heard tonight in the Kleine Zaal, a work by Elise Bertrand. They know the acoustics of the Amsterdam chamber music hall like the back of their hand, the musicians have been performing there since 2005.

Schubert's Der Tod und das Mädchen

The Modiglianis have fully immersed themselves in Schubert, in 2022 they released all his string quartets on CD. Of Schubert's quartets, 'Der Tod und das Mädchen', written between 1824 and 1826, is one of the best known. The name derives from Schubert's own song from 1817, in which death comes for a young girl. Death reassures her: "I am a friend, in my arms you can sleep soundly." Schubert provided even the grittiest passages with a mild patio – perhaps he too recognized death as a friend.