Octet in F Major

This new release is the second album in the series of recordings by the soloists of the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, under the artistic direction of Andrew Wan, concertmaster of the OSM since 2008. The recording of Franz Schubert's Octet in F Major, D. 803 by the OSM Chamber Soloists confirms what La Presse wrote about the musicians and their first album: "... we can only applaud the superior quality of their attack, their accuracy, their cohesion, their collective discourse." For the OSM Chamber Soloists, recording this work was the logical next step after Beethoven's Septet in E flat major Op. 20. Indeed, many have remarked on the similarities between the two works, composed 25 years apart. Both use similar forces, with Schubert merely adding a second violin to Beethoven's ensemble of violin, viola, cello, double bass, clarinet, bassoon, and horn; both have six movements connected by identical key relationships; and both feature a generally optimistic character. Surely they will be applauded again for their Octet by Schubert, another great album by the OSM Soloists!