Die schöne Müllerin: Arrangement for baritone and string quartet Roderick Williams & Carducci String Quartet

• Franz Schubert (1797 - 1828): Die schöne Müllerin, Op. 25, D. 795:
• 1 Schubert: Die schöne Müllerin, Op. 25, D. 795: I. Das Wandern (Arr. for String Quartet by Roderick Williams) 02:23
• 2 Schubert: Die schöne Müllerin, Op. 25, D. 795: II. Wohin? (Arr. for String Quartet by Roderick Williams) 02:27
• 3 Schubert: Die schöne Müllerin, Op. 25, D. 795: III. Halt! (Arr. for String Quartet by Roderick Williams) 01:35
• 4 Schubert: Die schöne Müllerin, Op. 25, D. 795: IV. Danksagung an den Bach (Arr. for String Quartet by Roderick Williams) 02:28
• 5 Schubert: Die schöne Müllerin, Op. 25, D. 795: V. Am Feierabend (Arr. for String Quartet by Roderick Williams) 02:41
• 6 Schubert: Die schöne Müllerin, Op. 25, D. 795: VI. Der Neugierige (Arr. for String Quartet by Roderick Williams) 03:58
• 7 Schubert: Die schöne Müllerin, Op. 25, D. 795: VII. Ungeduld (Arr. for String Quartet by Roderick Williams) 02:30
• 8 Schubert: Die schöne Müllerin, Op. 25, D. 795: VIII. Morgengrüss (Arr. for String Quartet by Roderick Williams) 04:04
• 9 Schubert: Die schöne Müllerin, Op. 25, D. 795: IX. Des Müllers Blumen (Arr. for String Quartet by Roderick Williams) 02:57
• 10 Schubert: Die schöne Müllerin, Op. 25, D. 795: X. Tränenregen (Arr. for String Quartet by Roderick Williams) 03:51
• 11 Schubert: Die schöne Müllerin, Op. 25, D. 795: XI. Mein! (Arr. for String Quartet by Roderick Williams) 02:09
• 12 Schubert: Die schöne Müllerin, Op. 25, D. 795: XII. Pause (Arr. for String Quartet by Roderick Williams) 04:31
• 13 Schubert: Die schöne Müllerin, Op. 25, D. 795: XIII. Mit dem grünen Lautenbande (Arr. for String Quartet by Roderick Williams) 02:15
• 14 Schubert: Die schöne Müllerin, Op. 25, D. 795: XIV. Der Jäger (Arr. for String Quartet by Roderick Williams) 01:12
• 15 Schubert: Die schöne Müllerin, Op. 25, D. 795: XV. Eifersucht und Stolz (Arr. for String Quartet by Roderick Williams) 01:48
• 16 Schubert: Die schöne Müllerin, Op. 25, D. 795: XVI. Die liebe Farbe (Arr. for String Quartet by Roderick Williams) 04:35
• 17 Schubert: Die schöne Müllerin, Op. 25, D. 795: XVII. Die böse Farbe (Arr. for String Quartet by Roderick Williams) 02:02
• 18 Schubert: Die schöne Müllerin, Op. 25, D. 795: XVIII. Trockne Blumen (Arr. for String Quartet by Roderick Williams) 04:23
• 19 Schubert: Die schöne Müllerin, Op. 25, D. 795: XIX. Der Müller und der Bach (Arr. for String Quartet by Roderick Williams) 04:20
• 20 Schubert: Die schöne Müllerin, Op. 25, D. 795: XX. Des Baches Wiegenlied (Arr. for String Quartet by Roderick Williams) 07:28
• Total Runtime 01:03:37

Info for Die schöne Müllerin: Arrangement for baritone and string quartet

Roderick Williams and the Carducci Quartet combine forces for a new arrangement of perform Schubert’s tragic song-cycle Die schöne Müllerin for baritone and string quartet (The Beautiful Maid of the Mill). Adapting poetry by Wilhelm Müller, the genesis of D. 795 marks the beginning of the end of Schubert’s life; he discovered that he had contracted syphilis sometime in late 1822 or early 1823, and it was in 1823 that he composed this tale of a poet-singer who dies in the aftermath of erotic experience.

Roderick Williams is one of the most sought-after baritones of his generation. He performs a wide repertoire from baroque to contemporary music, in the opera house, on the concert platform and is in demand as a recitalist worldwide.

Described by The Strad as presenting “a masterclass in unanimity of musical purpose, in which severity could melt seamlessly into charm, and drama into geniality”, the award-winning Carducci Quartet is internationally acclaimed as one of the most accomplished and versatile ensembles of today.

Roderick Williams, baritone
Carducci String Quartet

Roderick Williams
is one of the UK’s most sought-after baritones and is constantly in demand on the concert platform and in recital, encompassing repertoire from the baroque to world premieres.

Opera engagements have included major roles at leading opera houses worldwide including the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, English National Opera, Dutch National Opera, Dallas Opera, the Bregenz Festival and Oper Köln. He has been involved in many world premieres including Alexander Knaifel’s Alice in Wonderland, several operas by Michel van der Aa, the title role in Robert Saxton’s The Wandering Jew, and the UK premiere of Sally Beamish’s Judas Passion with the Orchestra of the Age of the Enlightenment.

Notable operatic engagements have included Oronte in Charpentier’s Medée, Toby Kramer in van der Aa’s Sunken Garden, Don Alfonso / Cosi fan Tutte and Sharpless / Madam Butterfly and baritone in a staging of Britten’s War Requiem for English National Opera, the title role in Eugene Onegin and Prince Yeletsky / Pique Dame for Garsington Opera, the title role in Billy Budd for Opera North, van der Aa’s After Life at Melbourne State Theatre and at Opera de Lyon, and van de Aa’s Upload for Dutch National Opera, the Bregenz Festival, Oper Köln and at the Park Avenue Armory in New York. He has also appeared as Papageno and as Ulisse / Il Ritorno di Ulisse in Patria for the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Toby Kramer for Dallas Opera, and Christus / St John Passion in staged performances with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, both under Sir Simon Rattle. In 2023 he sang Germont in La Traviata at the St Endellion Festival and recorded the role for a new film by Opera Glassworks which was released on Sky Arts in January 2025. Future engagements include Josh in the new Van der Aa opera, The Theory of Flames, for the Dutch National Opera and Bregenz Festival.

Recent and future concert engagements include performances with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Dresden Philharmonic, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, BBC Philharmonic, BBC Symphony, the Hallé, Bayerische Rundfunk, Britten Sinfonia, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Gabrieli Consort, The Sixteen, The King’s Consort, Le Concert Spirituel, Ensemble Orchestral de Paris, Berlin Philharmonic, RIAS Kammerchor, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Netherlands Radio Philharmonic, St Paul Chamber Orchestra, Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, San Francisco Symphony, Music of the Baroque Chicago, New York Philharmonic, Utah Symphony, Cincinnati Symphony, Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, Sao Paulo Symphony, Bach Collegium Japan, and Singapore Symphony.He is a regular performer at the BBC Proms, featuring as the soloist in the Last Night in 2014, and recently appearing in the St Matthew Passion in 2021, and the world premiere of Matthew Kaner’s ‘Pearl’ in 2022. Other recent engagements included tours of Japan with the BBC SO, of Europe with the RIAS Kammerchor, and of North America with Bach Collegium Japan.

He is an accomplished recital artist who can be heard regularly at venues and festivals including Wigmore Hall, Kings Place, LSO St Luke’s, the Perth Concert Hall, Ludlow Song Festival, Oxford Lieder Festival, Howard Assembly Room in Leeds, Bath International Festival, Three Choirs Festival, Aldeburgh Festival, Edinburgh International Festival, the Concertgebouw and the Musikverein. In 2019 he performed all three Schubert cycles at Wigmore Hall. His recital programmes often feature repertoire by British composers, including many new works. He appears frequently on BBC Radio 3 and Radio 4 as both performer and presenter.

His numerous recordings include Vaughan Williams, Berkeley and Britten operas for Chandos, and an extensive repertoire of English song with pianist Iain Burnside for Naxos. Other recent recordings include an award-winning disc of French song with Roger Vignoles for Champs Hill Records, the three Schubert Cycles with Iain Burnside for Chandos, and recordings of Stanford and Somervell with Susie Allan for Somm. He has also recorded Schubert’s Winter Journey in a new translation by Jeremy Samms with Christopher Glynn for Signum. He sang Captain Balstrode / Peter Grimes with the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra for Chandos (Gramophone Recording of the Year 2021). He has also recorded his own arrangement of Butterworth’s A Shropshire Lad and other English repertoire with the Hallé and Sir Mark Elder, also for Chandos.

He is an established composer and has recently taken up the role of Composer in Association of the BBC Singers. Commissions include a major work, World without End, for the RIAS Kammerchor and BBC Singers, as well as a commission to celebrate the centenary of the RAF. He was Artistic Director of Leeds Lieder + in April 2016 and Artist in Residence with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra 2020-2022. Currently he is Artist in Residence of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and ‘singer-in-residence’ for Music in the Round in Sheffield presenting concerts and leading on dynamic and innovative learning and participation projects that introduce amateur singers, young and old, to performing classical song repertoire. In 2023 he was Artistic Director of the St Endellion Summer Festival, and Artist in Residence at the Aldeburgh Festival.

In 2016 he won the Royal Philharmonic Society’s Singer of the Year award, and in June 2017 was awarded an OBE for services to music. He also performed at the Coronation of King Charles III in 2023.

Carducci String Quartet
Described by The Strad as presenting “a masterclass in unanimity of musical purpose, in which severity could melt seamlessly into charm, and drama into geniality”, the award-winning Carducci Quartet is internationally acclaimed as one of the most accomplished and versatile ensembles of today.

Founded in 1997, the quartet has won numerous international competitions, including the Concert Artists Guild International Competition and the Kuhmo International Chamber Music Competition. The ensemble is celebrated for its mastery of the core repertoire, alongside a commitment to presenting new works each season and curating genre-crossing programmes that incorporate film music, jazz, folk, and spoken word.

The Carducci Quartet performs at prestigious venues worldwide, including the Barbican, Cadogan Hall, Southbank Centre, Royal Albert Hall and Wigmore Hall, London; National Concert Hall, Dublin; Tivoli Concert Hall, Copenhagen; The Frick Collection and Carnegie Hall, New York; Library of Congress and John. F Kennedy Center, Washington D.C.; St Lawrence Center for the Arts, Toronto; Muziekcentrum De Bijloke, Ghent; and Concertgebouw, Amsterdam. Festival residencies have included Cheltenham, Ryedale, Aldeburgh, Lichfield, Presteigne, Kilkenny, Canterbury, and West Cork. They made their BBC Proms debut alongside VOCES8 in 2023. Upcoming highlights for the 25/26 season include an extensive Schubert tour with Roderick Williams; collaborations with vocal ensemble VOCES8 and clarinettists Emma Johnson, and Julian Bliss; a Shostakovich cycle for West Cork Music, and a return to London’s Wigmore Hall.

Shostakovich’s music has long been central to the quartet’s identity. In 2016, they won a Royal Philharmonic Society Award for Shostakovich15, a global cycle of his quartets, including a marathon one-day performance at Shakespeare’s Globe. This landmark project led to a series of recordings – Quartets 4, 8, and 11, followed by 1, 2, and 7 (2019), and 9 and 15 (2024). During the 2024/25 season, they presented a five-concert cycle at the Barbican pairing Shostakovich with female Soviet composers. Their exploration continues with Shostakovich’s Letters, a collaboration with actor Anton Lesser blending the composer’s writings with his music.

In 2015 they curated projects around Philip Glass and Steve Reich as part of the Royal Philharmonic Society Award winning ‘Minimalism Unwrapped’ at Kings Place in London. Their recording of the Philip Glass Quartets, for Naxos, has reached over 21 million plays on Spotify. The quartet will mark both composers’ 90th birthdays with a major project across the 26/27 season.

Education is central to the Carducci Quartet’s mission. Their family concert Getting the Quartet Bug! was shortlisted for an RPS Award, and in Autumn 2024 they began a two-year residency at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama. The Carducci Music Trust supports their work with schools and young musicians, and they are the Philip Carne Ensemble in Residence at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, London.

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