A Gateway to the Sublime

In the history of music there can be few examples of a composer exceeding the brief with results as astounding as Schubert in his Octet. It was commissioned by one of the composer’s patrons, Count Ferdinand von Troyer, a talented amateur clarinettist who had played in the premiere of Beethoven’s celebrated Septet some 20 years earlier. He suggested Schubert compose a companion piece for Beethoven’s work, which he did faithfully – while also creating one of the richest works in all of chamber music.