In 1824, Schubert knew he was dying and, with time dwindling, he channels his mortal efforts into composing a piece focused on death and resurrection. The result has now become a pillar of the modern string quartet repertoire: Death and the Maiden. A series of dances and introspection in four movements, Schubert utilizes a palette of extremes, juxtaposing the last movement's famous and fiery tarantella with the second movement's pathetic reminiscence on an 1817 lied, Der Tod und das Mädchen.

This Bärenreiter set is a critical urtext edition, edited by Werner Aderhold, and contains four removable parts (two violins, viola, and cello).