Music / “Death and the Maiden”. Canberra Strings at Wesley Uniting Church, Forrest. April 18. Reviewed by
ROB KENNEDY.
SCHUBERT struggled with the notion of mortality. His “Death and the Maiden” is the culmination of his philosophical musings about death put into an almighty work of music.
In the wonderful acoustics of the Wesley Uniting Church in Forrest, the players in Canberra Strings for this concert were Barbara Jane Gilby, violin, Pip Thompson, violin, Lucy Carrigy-Ryan, viola, Samuel Payne, cello.
To open the concert, Schubert’s “Quartettsatz”. This quartet movement in C minor, D 703, which never made it into a full quartet, is full of light, sweet music that fluctuates between rapid passages and singing tones. It’s a drifting piece that fits a light mood, but it is beautifully written.