شوبرت Octet in F major, D. 803

Franz Schubert composed his Octet in F major, D. 803, in 1824. It was comissioned by clarinetist Ferdinand Troyer, who requested a piece similar to Beethoven's Op. 20 Septet. Schubert arguably based the movement structure of his piece in Beethoven's septet, though he derived the theme for the first movement of his Octet from his own lied 'Der Wanderer'. He also inserted a set of variations in the fourth movement, based on a a theme from his 'Die Freunde von Salamanka' singspiel. The Octet consists of six movements, takes about an hour to perform, and it is scored for two violins, viola, cello, contrabass, horn, basoon, and clarinet.