Octet in F major op. post. 166 D 803

“I have done little new by way of lieder. In compensation I have tried my hand at several instrumental things, for I have composed two quartets for violins, viola and violoncello [A minor, D 804; D minor, D 810] and an octet [F major, D 803] and will write yet another quartet [not carried out]. Indeed, in this way I hope to prepare the way to the full-scale symphony. The latest news in Vienna is that Beethoven will give a concert [on 7 May 1824] ...I too am inclined to give a similar concert next Year, God willing.”

Thus Schubert, writing on 31 March 1824 to his friend Leopold Kupelwieser in Rome, in a lengthy letter whose first section is decidedly low-spirited. In order to prepare the way to the full-scale symphony – by which he doubtless meant the genre as a whole rather than any specific work – he wrote string quartets and a large-scale piece of chamber music for strings and winds, taking Beethoven as his guide.