FIGURES OF EIGHT

Franz Schubert: Octet in F, D. 803

Hanna Hujanen, clarinet
Samuel Rouleau, bassoon
Janne Laine, French horn
Raymond Cox, violin
Piia Virtanen, violin
Sameli Vettenranta, viola
Kati Ylitalo, cello
Gregory Staas, double bass

A truly tonic performance by eight of our very own players in a work lasting about an hour guaranteed to lighten up the dark winter evening. Schubert wrote his six-movement Octet at the request of the virtuoso clarinetist Ferdinand Troyer and it was premiered in Vienna in 1824. It has been likened to Beethoven’s Septet, a hit in its day, and Schubert certainly succeeded equally well – if not better, some say – in his Octet. Its melodies and playful virtuosity do indeed hold the listener in their grip.