Chamber Music Evening N° 8

<a</span>>This Septet was by no means a mere appetiser at the mammoth premiere concert featuring large orchestral pieces such as the C major Piano Concerto and Symphony No. 1. When Beethoven himself first organised a self-financed Akademie concert in Vienna on 2 April 1800 to present his latest works, the E-flat major Septet was in fact the longest item on the programme. In a letter to his publisher, the composer stressed that this work contained seven fully independent parts and was not simply a string quartet with optional winds. The Septet became Beethoven’s most popular work during his lifetime: not only was it frequently performed, but it also appeared in countless official (and unauthorised) arrangements.