Quartet

- Sometimes, I'm sure you will agree, you just have to be grateful for Schubert.
- Of course. Yes... Sorry? I don't quite follow you.
- Schubert – the composer, you know? Sometimes you just have to be grateful.
- Yes. That's what I thought you said. Any reason in particular?
- No... Just when you are feeling worn out, and a bit down in the dumps – tonight, for instance – listening to him can have a remarkable effect.
- Making you feel better?
- Yes. What else did you expect?
- Nothing. Just wanted to be sure. And any piece in particular?
- Tonight it was Death and the Maiden: the string quartet: in D minor: Deutsch 810.
- Right. Not the most cheerful of titles. Not one you would necessarily think of turning to if you were glum.
- And yet – title not withstanding – it is such an optimistic work: full of invention, slipping and sliding between the melancholic and the dramatic and the joyful.
- A bit unfocussed, then?
- But that's the charm of Schubert.
- Of course. I suppose it's testament to the redemptive power of great music.
- Exactly.