About this edition
Schubert's Octet in F major, D. 803, is one of the most cherished large-scale works in the chamber repertoire — a six-movement journey of nearly an hour that combines the intimacy of chamber playing with the scope and ambition of a symphony. Composed in February and March 1824 at the request of Count Ferdinand Troyer, an accomplished amateur clarinetist, Schubert took Beethoven's Septet, Op. 20, as his model but expanded the ensemble with a second violin, giving clarinet, bassoon, horn, two violins, viola, cello, and double bass a fuller, more colorful sonic palette. Written during a period Schubert himself described as one of the unhappiest of his life, the Octet radiates warmth, wit, and melodic generosity, and it remains a touchstone of the wind-and-string chamber literature.
This edition reproduces the score as published in Leipzig by Breitkopf & Härtel in 1889, appearing as Serie III, No. 1 (pages 1–68) of Franz Schubert's Werke, the landmark critical Gesamtausgabe of Schubert's complete works issued between 1884 and 1897. The volume was edited by Eusebius Mandyczewski (1857–1929), archivist of the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde in Vienna and one of the most respected Schubert scholars of his generation, whose editorial work on the Gesamtausgabe helped establish a scholarly standard that performers and researchers still consult today. Bearing the original plate number F.S. 19, this volume is part of the first attempt to present Schubert's entire output in a uniform, critically prepared edition — a project that shaped how the composer's chamber music has been studied and performed ever since.
About this edition:
- Full score format (not a reduction or individual instrumental parts)
- Page size: 8.5 x 11 inches
- Reproduced from a public domain historical source
- Published by Purple 4R Publishing
Because this score comes from a historical edition that has entered the public domain, we're able to bring Mandyczewski's careful scholarship back into print at an accessible price — making this beloved work easy to own, study, and perform for conductors, ensembles, students, and Schubert admirers alike.
