In late September or early October 1828—two months before his death—Franz Schubert completed his C-major string quintet. He passed the work to his Leipzig publisher Heinrich Albert Probst on 2 October 1828, writing in the accompanying letter:
“Among other things, I have composed three sonatas for piano solo, which I would like to dedicate to Hummel. I have also set several poems by Heine of Hamburg, which went down extraordinarily well here, and finally have completed a quintet for 2 violins, 1 viola and 2 violoncellos. I have played the sonatas in several places, to much applause, but the quintet will only be tried out in the coming days. Should any of these compositions by any chance commend themselves to you, please let me know.”
Well… we are fortunate to have this music survive to 2022, and we are able to listen to these wonderful sounds.
Here’s the music:
