In 1817 Schubert composed one of his most endearing and poignant songs, "Der Tod und das Mädchen". The song, set to a text by Matthias Claudius, centers around the story of a young girl who is lured by Death with promises of eternal peace. The song is poignant in that Death, from the beginning, takes a great hold on the young girl, and the music becomes all-consuming until the girl succumbs.

In 1823 Schubert met Ignaz Schuppanzigh, the first violinist of the famed quartet which had premiered nearly all of Beethoven’s quartets. Inspired by this meeting, he began in 1824 to compose his first string quartets. For inspiration, Schubert went back to this most haunting melody, "Der Tod und das Mädchen". Schubert wrote three quartets, his first mature foray into the difficult world of quartet writing. Unfortunately, these first were also his last. Schubert had written several earlier attempts, but he abandoned them, noting that they were not up to the qualities set by those great masters before him, Mozart, Haydn and Beethoven. Knowing Schuppanzigh would see them, he knew the level and quality of work that he must produce.

Schubert’s health was precarious during this time. At the end of 1823 he had been hospitalized for complications from syphilis. A series of personal and professional disappointments also plagued him. In March of 1824, as he worked on the quartet, he wrote to a friend of his despair: "I feel myself to be the most unhappy and wretched creature in the world . . . a man whose health will never be right again… whose brightest hopes have come to nothing, to whom the happiness of love and friendship offer nothing but pain . . . each night, when I go to sleep, I hope I will not wake again . . . "

Where the first movement is violently restless, the second movement of the quartet begins quoting the theme of "Der Tod und das Mädchen". Five variations follow the theme, each gain in strength and intensity. First, the violin sings above a quiet accompaniment. The cello follows and leads to a rhythmic play in a series of elegantly crafted variations. The fourth variation is in major, adding yet another level of depth, leading to its final variation and coda. The Scherzo is also based on an earlier work, his Landler in G-sharp minor (D. 790, No. 6) that he composed the previous May. The final Presto is a relentless tarantella, full of frenetic energy and spicy rhythms.