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FRANZ SCHUBERT | Octeto, en Fa mayor, D.803
Violins | Alexa Farré Brandkamp y Uta Kerner
Viola | Francesco Tosco
Violoncello | Ivana Radakovich Radovanovich
Double Bass | Mathew James Gibbon Whillier
Clarinet | José Luis Fernández Sánchez
Bassoon | Ramiro García Martín
Horn | Joaquín Morillo Rico
Program notes
The Octet is one of Schubert's most expansive works and draws a clear parallel with Beethoven's Septet (1800), sharing the same six-movement structure and instrumental distribution, with the addition of a second violin. It was commissioned by Count Ferdinand von Troyer, an amateur clarinetist, who suggested Beethoven's Septet as a model. Despite its length, the piece flows seamlessly thanks to the imaginative and diverse treatment of the wind instruments. Composed in February and March of 1824, it is contemporaneous with the Rosamunde and Death and the Maiden string quartets.
In 1823, Schubert was diagnosed with syphilis. His final years, marked by periods of remission from the illness, were a time of feverish creativity, producing masterful works filled with both pain and celebration. In 1824, he wrote to his friend Kupelwieser, describing himself as “the most miserable and wretched man on Earth.” This makes the cheerful tone of the Octet all the more surprising. The Scherzo stands out as one of Schubert's most exuberant, filled with infectious energy. Equally remarkable is the Adagio, a tender, songlike movement brimming with warmth.
The opening of the final movement is the only somber moment in the piece, but it quickly gives way to a lively perpetuum mobile, bursting with energy and vitality, bringing the work to a triumphant close.