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PROVOCATIVE THOUGHTS:
The late Patric Standford may have written these short pieces deliberately to provoke our feedback. If so, his success is reflected in the rich range of readers' comments appearing at the foot of most of the pages.
Franz Schubert's Octet in F, D 803, written in March 1824, is the composer's largest scale chamber work. Scored for clarinet, bassoon, horn, two violins, viola, cello and double bass, it was commissioned by the amateur Austrian clarinettist Ferdinand Troyer, who requested a work similar to Beethoven's Septet. The Octet has six movements, the average performance time is one hour, and it was first performed in public in Vienna on 16 April 1827.
Ensemble. Schubert's Octet and the Spirit of Vienna - Giuseppe Pennisi reports from the final concert of a Schubert festival in Rome
CD Spotlight. True to the Composer's Original Intentions - Schubert's Octet, heard by Geoff Pearce. '... the sound is detailed and crisp, and the balance is good.'
Ensemble. Full Rein - Sinfonia Viva at the Buxton Festival, heard by Mike Wheeler