Brother Tree Sound

Franz Schubert (1797-1828)

String Quartet No. 14 in D minor, D 810, ‘Death and the Maiden’ (Schubert)

i Allegro
ii Andante con moto
iii Scherzo: Allegro molto
iv Presto

Of his fifteen string quartets, the D minor quartet subtitled “Death and the Maiden” is number fourteen. Appropriately, the title comes from a Schubert song of the same name, part of which is used as the theme for the second movement’s variations. It’s an appropriate appellation, though, for the whole piece considering its overall tragic mien: each movement is in a minor key and none veer far from the expressive turbulence of the first movement’s opening measures.

Performers

Brother Tree Sound (String ensemble)

• Anna De Bruin - Violin
• Thea Spiers - Violin
• Triona Milne - Viola
• Clare O'Connell - Cello

With three albums generating over 10 million streams worldwide, recent recipients of the prestigious Vaughan Williams Foundation grant and with numerous performances in music clubs, on concert platforms, at classical music festivals, outdoor stages and folk music clubs, Brother Tree Sound is a trailblazing string quartet with a passion for inspiring audiences through their scintillating performances.

Dedicated to the performance of new music, the group regularly commissions new works from established and emerging composers. Their Vaughan Williams Foundation grant has enabled them to commission Philharmonic Society prizewinning composer Ben Nobuto to write a piece for string quartet and horn as part of an ongoing project partnering with Ben Goldscheider. A number of their projects have been generously supported by the Herbert Howells Trust, Cavatina Trust and Watford Palace Theatre and ACE.

​The group have recently released their album of early 20th century French quartets by Ravel, Tailleferre, Milhaud and Durey with First Hand records winning high praise from the critics. Brother Tree Sound have become fascinated with this transitional period of music. The album release coincides with Ravels 150th birthday Anniversary with a concert to mark this occasion.

​The quartet has a deep connection to folk music and in October 2024 they released their album Maid on the Shore. Here they are delving further into the rich and fascinating world of traditional folk songs from England, Ireland and Wales. Their heartfelt arrangements are driven by personal connections to the timeless traditions, stories and landscapes. The album includes well-known songs as well as uncovering a few hidden gems.

Members of Brother Tree Sound have played in chamber ensembles in many of Londons best loved venues including the Wigmore Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Purcell Room and Conway Hall. It is their love of the powerful intimacy of the string quartet that has brought them together and sees them continue their journey.

Over the past few seasons the quartet has recorded, made videos and commissioned music for a variety of projects. They released their hugely successful EP Interstices, in 2020 which has had worldwide success. Naming it after the Latin for ‘The Space Between’ the idea was to bring together four quite different styles of music that explore the same intangible idea of finding the spaces between notes, phrases, musical landscape and performers.The EP has been broadcast on BBC Radio 3 a number of times.